


Anyone You Want

by HPFandom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, Explicit Language, Multi, Romance, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-09
Updated: 2007-02-28
Packaged: 2018-10-01 02:31:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10178708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPFandom_archivist/pseuds/HPFandom_archivist
Summary: As far as Tonks is concerned, there's only one rule: he's not allowed to fall in love with her. But Harry Potter has always had trouble following rules... Written before HBP, so not entirely canonical.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HP Fandom](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HP_Fandom_\(archive\)), which was closed for health and financial reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HP Fandom collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hpfandom/profile).

  
_All characters are the creation and property of JK Rowling.  
All I get out of this is the pleasure of their company, which is more than enough._

 

**Anyone You Want**   


I.  
Harry tried to flatten his fringe, but like the rest of his hair it refused to stay down. He scowled at his reflection, which scowled back in what he felt was an unnecessarily mocking way. Fine, he thought. Let him look stupid on his first day of Auror training. Let all the Aurors and all the other students look at him and think, “That’s the famous Harry Potter? What’s with his hair?” Out of nerves, he ran a hand through his hair, leaving it even messier than it was when he started. He sighed and gave up, then snatched up his wand and his bag full of new notebooks and quills and headed down the stairs.

Distractedly he placed a few pieces of bread in the toaster and jabbed his wand at it, then started the coffee pot percolating. As he leaned back to wait for the toast we wasn't at all sure he wanted, he heard the front door open, and knowing who it was, he turned to grab a second coffee mug. He had just poured it when Remus stumbled in and threw himself down at the kitchen table.

Harry knew better than to try to talk to Remus until he'd had at least one cup of coffee, so he set the mug in front of him and turned to spread marmalade on the toast which had just finished. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Remus started to look a bit more awake, so Harry decided to chance some conversation.

"Long night?" he asked the older man.

Remus sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Yes, very long. It gets worse every night. Well, you've seen what it's like this summer."

"Dumbledore says it's a good sign," Harry commented, turning his toast over and over. 

"I know," Remus laughed grimly. Then he said in a decent imitation of Dumbledore's gentlemanly speech, "You see, the nearer defeat they are, the more desperate their actions become."

Harry's mouth twisted wryly, and he took another sip of his coffee. "Yeah. Let's hope he's right."

Remus grunted and gulped more coffee. Harry stared down at his toast, then at his watch. It was about time to go, but at that moment he'd rather be out on a dangerous mission for the Order than facing his first day of Auror training. He knew it was stupid, because after all the work he, Ron, and Hermione had done against the Death Eaters that summer, starting something as safe and tame as attending Auror training classes should be easy. He would be studying, he reminded himself. More importantly, he would be learning better ways to fight, he would be spending his days with people who weren’t trying to kill him--indeed, they were actively trying to help him survive. But regardless of how he knew he should feel, the fact was, he was desperately afraid he’d make a prat of himself while everyone was watching. The thought made his stomach churn, and he set down his toast. He couldn’t make himself eat.

Harry stood and took his dish and mug over to the sink. "I guess I'd better get going," he said on a great sigh. 

Remus glanced up from his coffee mug. "That's right, today's your first day of Auror training. Nervous?"

"Who, me, nervous?" Harry said sarcastically, running a hand through his hair again.

Remus laughed, then stood up and crossed the kitchen to pour himself another cup of coffee. Whether accidentally or on purpose, the movement placed him right next to Harry, and he reached out and clapped a hand to Harry's shoulder. 

"You'll be fine, Harry," he said with an encouraging smile. "Your parents would be proud."

Harry took a deep breath. "Thanks," he said, feeling the tension in his chest loosen a little bit. "See you tonight, I guess." He walked over to the hearth, but just then Remus called to him again.

"Hey, Harry?" he said. "Comb your hair, will you, mate?"

Harry laughed and punched Remus on the shoulder. Feeling much better than he had done before, he removed his glasses, and stepped into the fireplace. When the flames glowed green he yelled, “The Ministry of Magic!” and after a few minutes jostling and swirling, he was spit out on the floor of the Atrium of the Ministry. He shook his head slightly to clear it, and noticed a large hand being held in front of him. He slipped his glasses back on and saw that the hand belonged to Ron, who was towering over him offering a hand up. He grinned and grabbed it, stumbling slightly as Ron heaved him up.

“All right there, Harry?” Ron asked, grinning.

“All right,” Harry said, returning his grin. “You?”

“All right,” Ron said. “I told Hermione we’d wait for her here. She’s Apparating from her parents’ house.”

“What, you two haven’t moved in together yet?” Harry teased, raising a black eyebrow. To his surprise, Ron’s face turned pink. Harry raised both eyebrows, wondering what this new development was.

“Er…no, we haven’t moved in together,” Ron stammered, “but maybe we should. We need more…er…privacy than we needed at Hogwarts…” He trailed off, looking everywhere but at Harry. His ears flamed bright red, and he couldn’t quite hide his grin.

Harry stared at him blankly for a moment before understanding hit. When it did he laughed out loud and clapped Ron on the shoulder. “She finally gave it up, did she, mate? Good for you!”

Ron turned even redder, and gave Harry a look that was a mix of a scowl and a look of outrageous pride. Before he had a chance to answer, there was a pop a few feet away from them and Hermione appeared, her giant bag slung over her shoulder and her curly hair pulled back in a ribbon. She saw Ron and gave a shy smile, her cheeks blushing prettily. Ron returned her smile with what Harry figured must have been the goofiest grin he had ever seen.

“Hullo,” Ron said awkwardly. Hermione’s smile deepened.

“Hello,” she said softly, hugging her books to her chest and gazing at him.

Harry rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t quite suppress the stab of jealousy that shot through him. He was truly happy that Ron and Hermione were so much in love, but their obvious --very obvious-- feelings for each other sometimes left him feeling a little wistful and lonely. It wasn’t that he fancied anyone in particular, he thought, as he looked up at the ceiling. He just sometimes wished he had someone. When those feelings were too much for him, he would work out on Remus’ weight set, with the result that after a summer with no girls in his life, at least not in that way, he was becoming quite muscular. That was something to be glad about, he thought glumly, even if the cause of it wasn’t. 

Ron and Hermione continued to stare at each other. Harry cleared his throat. “Hello?” he said, waving a hand in front of Ron’s face. “Remember me?” 

He had apparently broken their trance because Hermione started and glanced over at him and smiled, a much more brisk and much less dreamy smile than the one she had given Ron. “Hello, Harry!” she said brightly. “Ready for the first day of training?”

“No,” he said equally cheerfully. “I’m quite sure I’ll make a total idiot of myself.”

“You will not!” Hermione declared with touching loyalty. “Will he, Ron?”

“I figured he probably would,” Ron said, a mischievous look in his brown eyes. Hermione smacked him on the shoulder and Harry smirked. He was glad he had these two beside him, even if he did make an idiot of himself today.


	2. Chapter 2

**II.**

Harry, Ron, and Hermione gathered in the wide hallway of the Auror Department, unsure where to go. Other new trainees, some of whom he recognized from Hogwarts, stood whispering in pairs or alone on the edges of the group. They all looked up with expressions of anxiety or excitement when the double glass doors opened and a pretty young witch strode in. She ran headlong into a passing Auror, knocking him over and sending papers flying wildly through the hallway. Harry, Ron, and Hermione grinned at each other. It was exactly the entrance they would have predicted from Tonks. 

“Er...sorry, Dawlish,” the Tonks murmured. Dawlish rolled his eyes at her efforts to help him pick up his papers, then took out his wand and caused the papers to stack up neatly in his arms. Tonks gave him a friendly wave as he hurried off, presumably before she could do any more damage. 

“All right then,” Tonks said, turning to the gathered group of new students. “Welcome to Auror training. You can call me Tonks…” Ron snorted, earning him a repressive look from Tonks, whose real first name they knew quite well. 

Ron covered his mouth to hide his laugh and Tonks continued. “First, we’ll take you to your lockers and then get outfitted for your Auror robes. After that we’ll meet back here for a tour of Headquarters before we break for lunch. Got that?”

The new students all nodded numbly. Harry knew Tonks’ energy and intensity could be intimidating for people who weren’t used to her, but he had been pleased to see that she was the one leading them through orientation today. It was reassuring to see a friendly and familiar face. Today Tonks’ hair was a long and silky blonde, rather like Fleur Delacoeur’s, but with bangs that framed her heart-shaped face. Her eyes were blue and fringed with long dark lashes. Harry might not have recognized her if it weren’t for the fact that Tonks couldn’t suppress her mischievous personality for very long. She wore what looked like a Muggle schoolgirl’s uniform, with a plaid skirt, knee-socks and Mary Janes, and the most prim blouse Harry had ever seen. Over it all she wore a baby blue robe with an emblem sewn on the breast. The whole outfit was so completely proper and innocent that Harry couldn’t help but find it very sexy. He tried not to stare at her legs as she led the small group of trainees toward the locker rooms. Tonks tripped slightly as she walked, causing the robes to hitch up on her legs.

Apparently he wasn’t the only one who had noticed Tonks’ outfit. “What’s with the uniform?” Ron muttered quietly to Harry. “I think I had a wet dream that involved those clothes once…”

Harry snorted with suppressed laughter. “You’d better not let Hermione hear you say that, mate.”

Ron grinned, “Well, in the dream, she was the one wearing them, not Tonks.”

Tonks brought the group to a halt outside two doors not far from the entrance to the Aurors’ offices. “Right, then. On the right is the women’s locker room, on the left is the men’s. You can keep your books in your lockers while you’re still in training, and I suggest you keep a spare robe in there. There are also showers you might need to use after duels, drills, workouts, stake-outs, whatever. Trainee lockers are on the back wall of both rooms. The lockers are charmed to tell you their password once, so why don’t you go on in, pick a locker, and stash your things so you’re not carrying them all day, then meet me back out here in five minutes.”

They all hurried to do as Tonks directed. Harry and Ron claimed lockers next to each other, listened intently to their passwords, and threw their schoolbags in. One or two Aurors were already in there donning disguises or putting their things in their own lockers, and they nodded at the trainees. Harry tried to nod back solemnly, but he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. He couldn’t believe he was actually here, in the Aurors’ locker room!

They quickly ran out to join Tonks, who then led them briskly to a conference room where a short witch was standing next to a pile of dark fabric. “All right,” Tonks directed, “Women in here to be measured for uniform robes. Men follow me.” Hermione waved at Ron and Harry and followed the other women inside, and the men followed Tonks down the hall to another conference room.

“All right, then,” she said. “Men, robes off, shirts off, shoes off. I’ll be measuring you for your robes. Let’s get through this fast so we can go on to more interesting things, shall we?” Her tone was so authoritative, and such a contrast to her innocent appearance, that all of the men rushed to obey except Harry, who found to his discomfort that his body was reacting to being bossed around by Tonks. What was going on with him? He'd spent most of the summer around Tonks without thinking of her like this.

He didn’t have to understand it, though, to know that he really would prefer not to take his robes off right now. But all the other men were taking off theirs, and he didn’t see how he could get out of it, so he took a few deep breaths and tried to think of repulsive things to quell the arousal and get himself back under control. Finally, last of everyone, he began to strip as he was instructed.

Tonks was efficient as she measured their height, shoulders, arms, and chests. A quill and parchment followed her around recording the results. Harry glanced around the room at the other trainees in his class. At least he didn’t have to be embarrassed to be standing here shirtless; he was in good shape. Between Quidditch and his summer workouts he had a better body than most of the other men in the room. Ron was taller and well-muscled, but he was slender. Harry had achieved more muscle mass and tone. 

Tonks dismissed each man as she finished with him. Her tape measure and her hands flew over Ron’s skin as she measured him, causing Ron to go slightly pink. When Tonks was finished with him, he turned to Harry and said, “I’ll meet you out there, okay?” Harry knew he wanted to get back to Hermione, so he nodded and Ron left, leaving him alone in the room with Tonks.

Harry took more deep breaths and tried not to think about being alone in the room with Tonks and her schoolgirl outfit. Tonks wasn’t making any move to measure him, she just stood looking at him, and Harry started to feel very self-conscious. And it was hard not to think about her while she stood there in front of him, he thought in embarrassment. If she looked down, she would notice.

“You’re looking good these days, Harry,” Tonks said speculatively. “Been working out?”

“Er…yeah,” Harry said, feeling his face grow hot.

“Mmmm…it shows. Very nice.” She flicked a glance down, then looked back up again as she straightened out her tape measure and began to measure his arms. But where she had been brisk and businesslike with the others, she was now taking her time, her hands stroking his skin as she stretched the tape measure across it. Harry clenched his teeth as her nails grazed his biceps, the inside of his elbow, the base of his neck. Once he almost let a moan escape as her hands glided over him, but he quickly turned it into a cough.

“So, Harry,” Tonks began as she magically attached the top of the tape measure to his shoulder and lowered herself to her knees in front of him. He had to remind himself that she was only doing it to measure for the length of his robe. But it was difficult to think of anything when she was kneeling in front of him, her face inches away from the obvious bulge in the front of his trousers. “What do you think of my new outfit?”

“Er…what?” he answered stupidly, then flushed a bright red.

“I’m going undercover in a Muggle neighborhood this afternoon, and I thought this would make me look like all the other kids. What do you think?”

“Er… yeah,” he managed. “It’s great.”

Tonks stood again, and placed her hands on his chest. “How old are you, Harry?”

Harry gave her a confused look. “Eighteen,” he said. His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. He felt his face grow hot again.

Tonks smiled. “Eighteen? Interesting…”

Harry met her gaze. “Too old or too young?” he challenged.

Tonks raised her eyebrows, clearly pleased by the edge in his voice. “Just perfect,” she said, her smile widening. “Absolutely perfect.”


	3. Chapter 3

  
Author's notes: As far as Tonks is concerned, there's only one rule. He isn't allowed to fall in love with her. But Harry Potter has never been very good at following rules. Written before HBP.  


* * *

**III.**

Harry had no idea what to make of that exchange with Tonks. He couldn’t take his eyes off her for the rest of the day, though she hardly seemed to glance at him again. They gathered as a group again after their measuring was done, and Tonks led them on through the department, pointing out to them the locations of offices, classrooms, meeting rooms, dueling rooms, the potions laboratory, and the gym. Everywhere they looked, Aurors rushed busily from office to office, or stopped to talk to people in the Floo, or studied encrypted documents at their desks. Harry knew many of them from his work with the Order, but none of them acknowledged each other as the group of students passed through. 

Finally, they arrived at the library. Tonks gathered them all around her as she approached the tall carved doors at the very end of the Auror Department corridor. 

“This is the Ministry library,” she announced. “It’s kept here in our department because some of these books are very dangerous, and that’s our job, to keep danger under control. Every Auror is required to have a working knowledge of this library so that we can assist other Ministry departments when they need access to the books, and so that we know where to look for the information we need for our investigations. Fortunately for you,” she gave them a cheeky smile, “trainees are required to put in ten hours a week of library work, so you’ll learn your way around it pretty fast. You are about to see the largest and oldest magical library in the world. Ready?”

Harry glanced over at Hermione, who looked so excited he thought she might swoon. He noticed Ron was staring at Hermione, too, with a look on his face that probably should have been saved for when they were alone. Apparently Hermione’s excitement was transmitting itself to Ron, but Harry would bet Ron was not thinking about books.

Tonks pushed opened the great doors and led them into the library. Harry gaped as he stepped through them; this was the largest room he had ever been in. “Room” probably didn’t even begin to describe it. In front of them was a wide, curved desk with a dozen witches and wizards working behind it. To their right and left were desks and worktables with parchments and quills placed neatly on top of each one. Here and there a witch or wizard was bent over a book, quills out, taking notes. But behind the big desk Harry saw bookshelves, giant, heavy bookshelves that stretched higher up than he could see. Row upon row of them reached into the darkness above, though Harry was sure he glimpsed the flicker of a candle or a torch in that upper darkness. He wondered just how high the ceiling was. The rows stretched back and to the left and right, far out of his sight. He heard Hermione sobbing softly behind him.

“All right there, Hermione?” he asked, unable to take his eyes off what he knew must be millions of books. There was magic thrumming in the air here, not unlike the magic he had felt at Ollivander’s or in the Restricted Section at Hogwarts, as though the very dust were made of magic, but a hundred times stronger here than he had ever felt in those places.

“Yes,” Hermione said breathlessly, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her robe. “I’m all right. It’s just…there are so many! And they’re so old!”

Tonks was smiling at the group. “I love this part,” she said. “I love to see the trainees’ looks the first time they see this place. Granted, you’ll probably get sick of it before too long, but it’s always a sight the first time.”

She let them gaze around in awe for a few minutes longer. “All right, then, chaps,” she said, breaking them out of the trance they had fallen into. She leaned a hip against the table next to her, and promptly knocked over a bottle of ink. Blowing out an exasperated breath, she flicked her wand at it and cleaned it up.

“Some safety tips, then, and listen up, because they’re important. These are listed in your textbook, and there will be a test, so mind you study hard. As you move down the stacks, there are study areas every quarter mile or so in any direction. These include desks, couches, fireplaces, and food. If you get lost in the stacks, the first thing you want to do is find a study area. Does everyone know the Four Point spell?” Harry, Hermione and Ron nodded, earning them a look of approval from Tonks, but the rest shook their heads. “All right then, we’ll go over that first thing when classes start tomorrow. You want to go due North to find your way out. If you don’t manage, security wizards do a sweep of the stacks once a week.”

Tonks continued to give them a brief overview of the library, walking them into the stacks and showing them the first study area. It reminded Harry forcefully of the Gryffindor common room, only smaller. The comfortable couch and chairs clustered around the fireplace at the end of one of the gigantic bookcases could have been taken directly from there.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of information. Harry wondered how he would ever keep track of it all. Hermione reassured him by saying, “We never thought we’d learn to find our way around Hogwarts, either, remember? And we eventually did. This won’t be any worse.”

At five o’clock they made their way down to the Atrium, feeling worn out but excited about what was to come. Harry prepared to step into one of the large fireplaces when he heard Tonks call him. “Wotcher, Harry!” 

He waited while she ran up to him, trying not to watch her breasts bounce beneath her prim linen blouse. Ron kicked him in the shin, which helped. Tonks reached him and pulled his head down to her lips. “Assignment tonight for the Order, Harry. I’ll come by Grimmauld Place and get you ‘round nine, all right?”

Harry felt his face grow hot as her breath fluttered over his cheek. He just nodded mutely. Tonks waved goodbye at the three of them and walked away, her silky hair swinging down her back.


	4. Chapter 4

  
Author's notes: Tonks gives Harry a sneak preview.  


* * *

**IV.**

Harry changed his clothes and worked out as soon as he got home. He had no idea why he was reacting like this to Tonks, but he had a lot of energy he needed to channel. It must be the outfit, he thought. She was dressed like every boy’s first fantasy, how was he supposed to react? He’d see her tonight, and they’d go on some boring stakeout, and she’d be dressed in her usual jeans and spiky hair, and everything would be back to normal. He grunted with the effort of lifting the dumbbells just a few more times, then set them down and wiped his face with the towel around his neck.

Remus had to rush off again right after dinner, so Harry sat at the kitchen table and studied his new Auror training books. Training was going to be harder than he had imagined, and his respect for his new colleagues grew as he began to look over what his classes would involve. He was still reading the first chapter, the one they’d be tested on at the end of the week, about library safety, when he heard the bell ring. His palms were suddenly sweaty as he looked up at the clock and saw that it was nine o’clock. 

Stoically he answered the front door. Tonks was standing there, dressed in jeans as he had hoped. But her hair was still that long golden blond, and it fell in plaits over her shoulders onto the tight jumper that both covered and revealed everything about her shape. He swallowed. Tonks grinned and her nose wrinkled.

“Sorry, mate, but I had to change clothes,” she said. “The school-girl outfit is very...er…useful, but I usually can’t wait to get out of it.”

“Kdljydhhjdiu?” Harry said stupidly. Images of Tonks eagerly getting out of her school-girl outfit were flooding into his brain, giving him the same problem he had had this morning when she had measured him for his robes.

Tonks raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?” Harry felt his face burn scarlet. Tonks laughed. “You ready to go, mate? We’re off to a Death Eater meeting, just to scope out who’ll be leaving it. Get your invisibility cloak, will you?”

Harry ran up the steps to his bedroom to retrieve his cloak, tripping over himself more than once. His feet felt awkward and too big for his body. In a moment he ran back down the stairs to where Tonks was waiting for him. Suddenly anxious not to appear any more idiotic than he already did, he slowed himself down at the bottom of the staircase and took a deep breath. He glued what he hoped was a friendly smile on his face and tried not to look at her chest. 

“Ready,” he announced in what he hoped was a normal voice. Tonks led him outside the front door of number 12 and they Disapparated into Diagon Alley. The meeting was several blocks away from their Apparition point, but once they reached Knockturn Alley Harry donned his cloak and Tonks metamorphed into different people who would attract no notice. Eventually they came into an alley across from a shop where candle-light could be seen flickering from upper-level windows.

“Wotcher, Harry,” whispered Tonks, and he felt her tug at the cloak. “Let me under here, will you?” He moved so that she could fit under with him and they could both still see. Her body was way too close to him, her full chest pressed into his arm. He licked his lips and tried to breathe normally. They continued to watch the door across the alley.

“Tonks,” he whispered. “What is this meeting?”

“Nothing much,” Tonks whispered back. “It’s some lower-level new recruits. You know the drill; we just observe and take names at this stage.”

“Right,” Harry whispered. He did indeed know the drill. This was the kind of work he, Ron, Hermione, and others had been doing all summer. They were quiet for a few moments, watching. “Tonks?”

“Yeah?”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-four,” she said, pulling back slightly to look up him in the dim light that the cloak allowed. “Why?”

Harry shrugged. “I dunno.”

Tonks gave him that grin that wrinkled her nose. “Too young or too old?”

Harry smiled back. “Just perfect,” he said, his voice suddenly scratchy. He cleared his throat as quietly as he could, then reminded himself he was supposed to be watching. He turned away and kept his eyes fixed on the storefront, even if some of his attention was elsewhere.

Eventually the Death Eaters emerged and Disapparated from the walk in front of the store. Harry and Tonks identified as many as they could and whispered the names to a quill Tonks had brought. Once the coast was clear they left the dark street the same way they came, until they could safely Apparate back to Grimmauld Place. 

“I recognize few of those new ones from the Ministry,” Tonks remarked grimly. 

“I know, I recognized a few from Hogwarts,” Harry said. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised any more, but it still made him angry. “You’d think they’d know better.”

“Yeah, you’d think,” Tonks agreed. Harry wondered if that was bitterness in her voice, but then she looked up at Harry again, he decided he must have imagined it. He couldn’t help but notice how the blue of her eyes mirrored the deep blue of the night sky. Then he shook his head--where had that thought come from?

“Er… you want to come in for some tea?” he said awkwardly.

“Sure,” said Tonks brightly, waiting while Harry unspelled the front door. It opened and he ushered her inside. Since she knew the house as well as he did, she headed right to the kitchen, leaving him to reactivate the spells and follow her. She was already pouring steaming water into a teapot, but Harry intervened when she walked over to get the china cups from the shelf.

“Er… here, let me,” he said, smiling at her. 

Tonks returned his smile wryly. “You know me too well, Potter!”

“I thought I did,” Harry mumbled under his breath, setting the cups and cream and sugar bowls on the long kitchen table.

Tonks took a seat at the table and watched Harry pour their tea. “You know, Harry,” she began, “I’m not your supervisor at work.”

“Right…” Harry said, sitting across from her. He took up the sugar spoon and began doctoring his tea.

“So, do you have a girlfriend?” Tonks took a sip of her tea and looked right into Harry’s eyes.

Harry sputtered and choked on his tea. “No! I mean, no, I don’t. The last girlfriend I had was Luna last year.” Tonks nodded, but Harry went on before he lost his courage. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

She looked away and shook her head. “No, and I can’t say I’m really looking for one. At least, not a serious one.” Her voice sounded serious, now, not the teasing banter she had used before.

He didn’t know what to make of that. He didn’t think he was looking for anything serious, either. He just knew he’d pay most of the Galleons Sirius had left him to see her in that schoolgirl outfit she had worn earlier. Of course, this jumper wasn’t bad, either, he thought, looking her up and down before he was aware of what he was doing.

“But,” she continued very deliberately, glancing back at him, “that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t enjoy spending some time with a man, if I liked him and I was attracted to him.”

Harry stared at her blankly, then felt his face go hot again. He seemed to be doing that a lot around her today. Then he felt a huge grin break out on his face; he felt as goofy as Ron usually looked, but he couldn’t help it. Tonks had just made a pass at him, he was sure of it. Tonks liked him and thought he was attractive! 

“Er…yeah,” Harry mumbled, grinning down into his tea. "Me, too."

"You wouldn't mind spending time with an attractive man?" Tonks asked, arching her brows.

"I--no!" Harry sputtered. "That's not what I--"

Tonks laughed, her brown eyes sparking. "I know what you meant, mate. I'm glad. I've been thinking about you all day."

“You have?” Harry asked, ridiculously pleased. Tonks nodded. “Well, I’ve been thinking about you, too. I mean, that outfit…” He shook his head.

“I’ll wear that for you sometime, shall I?”

Harry’s jaw dropped. He wasn’t very smart about these things, but he was fairly sure she had just promised him sex. “You will?”

Tonks nodded and leaned in toward him. “Oh, yeah. Soon. You’ll be surprised at the things I can do for you, Harry. I’m a very unique person.”

“Soon?” he choked out.

Tonks gave him that mischievous grin. “Very soon,” she promised. “In fact… how would you feel about a sneak preview?”

“Ldfhiupal?” he stuttered. Tonks laughed and stood up, drawing him after her up the kitchen stairs, and up the next flight of stairs to his bedroom. They weren’t going to do it now, were they? He started to feel panicky. He really wanted it, wanted her, but he hadn’t even showered…

“Relax, Potter,” Tonks laughed. “You’re lucky, but not that lucky.” She shoved open his bedroom door and dragged him in behind her. Waving her wand she caused a dim, intimate light to glow in the room. Harry was embarrassed for a moment that his bed was unmade and there were clothes on the floor, but a second later he recalled that this was still Tonks. She was every bit as much of a slob as he was.

“Sit down,” Tonks said, gesturing to his bed. Harry swallowed hard and obeyed her. “Just a sec, okay?” Harry nodded, and Tonks darted out of the room. He heard a crash and soft swearing--she had apparently knocked over the vase on the table, but he was sure she could take care of it. A moment later she popped back in, wearing the outfit from earlier in the day. Harry’s jaw dropped again.

“I knew you liked it,” she said, walking toward him. “You know what I liked?”

Harry shook his head. Tonks reached him and pulled him up to his feet, then pulled his robe off him. “I liked seeing your chest,” she purred, and her hands slid under his shirt to strip it off over his head. “I liked touching it. I realized today that you’ve grown up, Harry. I was touching a man.” She bent her lips and kissed his chest. He could feel her tongue licking his skin. She placed her open palms on his shoulders and gently pushed him backward to sit on the bed. He reached for her, trying to pull her toward him.

“No, now wait,” she said with playful reproof. “This is a sneak-preview, remember?” She pushed him lightly back onto the mattress and began to unfasten his jeans. He gasped, surprised, but didn’t stop her. He lifted his hips so she could pull his pants down and off his feet along with his shoes. Then she knelt on the floor in front of him. He lifted himself on his elbows; he wanted to see her.

“You don’t have to worry about me, okay?” Tonks said. Harry frowned at her, not understanding.

“I mean, you don’t have to stop yourself for my sake,” she tried. Harry continued to stare at her blankly. Tonks rolled her eyes.

“I am saying that I want you to come. I want to swallow. Some women don’t like it, but I do. All right, then?”

Harry felt himself turning scarlet, but her words had caused his already hard erection to stand straight up. Tonks looked down at it and moaned. Harry moaned, too, and lay back on the bed, but he quickly realized he couldn’t see Tonks. He remembered back to that morning when she had been kneeling on the floor in front of him.

“Tonks,” he said hesitantly, “Can I stand up?”

“If you think your legs will hold you,” she said in clear challenge. He stood quickly, and she knelt up, the perfect height to take the head of his dick into her mouth. His knees buckled, but he steadied himself on Tonks’ shoulders. She sucked more of him into her mouth until he had filled her. She sucked him hard, her mouth wet and clinging on him. His breath was coming fast, and he could feel hers as well. With her fist she grasped the base of his penis; the effect was to cover his whole shaft, elongating her mouth and stimulating the whole length of him. Finally, she reached up her other hand and caressed his balls, squeezing them gently in rhythm to her sucking. He looked down and saw her mouth on him, saw the long swinging blonde hair, the knee-socks, the black patent-leather shoes, the demure plaid skirt, and he began to thrust into her mouth, his hands grasping the back of her head. Her moans were coming faster now, and he let his head fall back, just concentrating on the feeling of her mouth and hands on him. Finally, he gave one long thrust, then pumped himself as he felt himself come.

Then his knees buckled again, and he fell back onto the bed. His glasses were still on, but he thought his eyes were permanently crossed. He glanced over and could focus enough to see Tonks wipe her chin on her sleeve. She saw him watching and smiled. 

“That was amazing, mate,” she said. “We’re going to have a right good time, you and me.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, still breathing hard. “Amazing.”

Tonks stood and brushed off her knees. “I’d better get going. Eight o’clock comes early.”

Harry nodded and sat up. Tonks gave him a cheery wink and left, closing the door softly behind her. Harry wanted to stay awake and think about her, about what he had just experienced, but after a moment he fell back onto the bed and went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

  
Author's notes: As far as Tonks was concerned, there was only one rule. He wasn't allowed to fall in love with her. But Harry Potter has never been good about following rules.  


* * *

**V.**

Harry usually slept until the last possible minute then scurried around trying to get ready on time, but not today. Today he was up early, so early that he had to kill some time working out before breakfast. He vaguely heard Remus stumble past the workout room on his way to pour himself a cup of coffee, then the footsteps stopped and shuffled back to the doorway. Harry grinned in between reps; Remus wouldn’t be able to handle the change in routine until after a shot of caffeine. 

“Harry?” came Remus’ voice, incredulous though still thick with sleep. “What’s the matter? It’s not even six-thirty. Are you all right?”

Harry rested the bar into its place and sat up, wiping his face and neck with his towel. He grinned at Remus. “Yeah, I’m all right. I just woke up early.”

“You,” said Remus, confusion written on his face, “woke up early?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, laughing. “It’s no big deal. Go get your coffee before you break your brain.”

Remus shuffled back down the corridor to the kitchen. Harry stood up from the bench and picked up another set of weights, placed it carefully across his shoulders, and began his squats. He concentrated on the rhythm and tried to keep his mind off the vivid images that had floated through his dreams all night. But it did occur to him that he bet that Tonks did her share of squats; she had a really great butt. In fact, he was hoping to get his hands on it soon.

That thought put a quick end to his squats, since they were far too uncomfortable to do in his present state of arousal. He had to get himself under control before Remus came back in and figured out why he was up early. He picked up the dumbbells and took several deep breaths before he started his curls and flies. A few minutes later Remus came in, looking considerably more alert than he had before his coffee, and began to stretch. The two men worked out in companionable silence until the chiming of the clock in the hall told Harry it was seven o’clock. With a brief wave to Remus, he hit the shower.

Ten minutes later he stood in front of his closet feeling like an idiot. He was an Auror, for Merlin’s sake, he was the Boy Who Lived, he had the power to defeat Voldemort. Picking out a shirt and tie should not be a life-threatening task for him, but he found it was proving to be almost too much. Finally he pulled some clothes out, cursing in irritation with himself. Who cared how he looked? Tonks had seen him at his worst and she still liked him; he didn’t need to impress her. But even if he didn’t need to, a small voice in his head forced him to admit that he wanted to. He wanted her to think he looked good. He didn't want her to be sorry for what they had done last night.

Shaking his head at his own ridiculousness, he slipped on his new Auror’s robe, black with the official red badge on the lapel, and headed downstairs. He poured himself a bowl of cold cereal and sat at the long table by himself, listening absently to the clinking of weights from the other room. When his cereal was finished he read the Daily Prophet. He poured himself another cup of coffee, which was probably not the best idea since his nerves were already on end. He forced himself to wait until seven thirty, before calling goodbye to Remus, stepping outside the front door, and Apparating to the Ministry. No way was he going to take the Floo and show up all covered in ashes.

He arrived at work a half an hour early and immediately felt stupid. Three or four sleepy looking witches and wizards walked across the Atrium, but most of the morning rush wouldn’t begin for another twenty minutes. There really was no reason to be here this early. Blowing out a breath he made his way to the stairs and, hitching his bag up on his shoulder, he started up the flights to the Auror Department. Once there, he had no choice but to take as much time as he could stashing his bag in his locker and wandering around the office pretending he wasn’t looking for Tonks. A few of the more senior Aurors waved at him; he knew most of them from their work with the Order. He accidentally-on-purpose wandered by Tonks’ desk and noticed that it was a disaster; papers were scattered everywhere, a variety of dark detectors were scattered around, some of them broken, and a glutinous purple potion had spilled over several of the documents. Harry pulled out his wand and was about to clean it up for her, until he remembered he had no idea what it was. He put his wand away. He didn’t want to make it worse.

Finally, just as he was about to test his watch to make sure it was still working, a group of students and Aurors came in through the double glass doors of the Auror Department. Ron and Hermione had their arms slung around each other, which was a bit awkward for Hermione, since her bag was twice as heavy as Ron’s and seemed to pull her down on the other side. They looked around as they came in the door, and both broke into grins as they spotted Harry leaning against opposite the doors. 

“Hey, mate,” Ron said, “we didn’t expect you to be here already. We waited downstairs, but we didn’t want to be late.”

“I got here early,” Harry said, ignoring Hermione’s raised eyebrows and trying to look around the pair of them. “Have you seen Tonks? Is she here yet?”

Hermione glanced up at Ron, looking thoughtful, but neither of them said anything. “I think she’s coming on the next lift.”

Harry tried to conceal his impatience with a causal shrug. “All right, then.”

“So,” Ron said, in an equally false casual voice, “you and Tonks had an assignment together last night--ouch! What’d you do that for?”

Hermione had trodden on Ron’s foot. “Don’t go telling everyone the Order’s business!” she said in a hissing whisper. “That’s secret!”

“Oh, right,” Ron said, looking around at the other students who were milling about in little groups. 

Tonks did indeed come up in the next lift. Harry stood up straighter, then slouched again, trying to look causal. He watched Tonks wave to someone on the lift, then walk energetically in through the double glass doors to the crowded space on the other side. He smiled when she got her robe caught in the crack between the doors and got jerked back. That made him feel better. Taking a breath, he relaxed a little.

“All right, here are your class schedules for this term.” She handed out schedules to the students standing in the vestibule. “Mornings are lectures, afternoons are practicals. From now on you’ll stash your stuff in your locker and meet in classroom two for everyone’s favorite class, Potions.”

Harry couldn’t stifle a groan, and Tonks glanced at him sharply. “Problem, Mr. Potter?”

Harry felt his face going hot, and knew he must be turning bright red. He gave Tonks a confused look. Was she cross with him? “Er…no, ma’am,” he said uncertainly.

“Glad to hear it,” she said, nodding curtly. “All right, class in five minutes. I’ll see you this afternoon in the gym for practicals.” 

The class wandered toward the Potions classroom, but Harry shoved his hands in his pockets and let them trail past him. He was hurt by Tonks’ sharp words to him, but he didn’t know why. She was in charge of their class, after all. And she hadn’t really yelled at him. He decided to shrug it off, and hurried forward to get a seat next to Ron and Hermione.

Auror-level Potions was going to be hard, he thought, as Madame Conover, a senior Auror, began their first lecture. Hermione was, as usual, sitting on the edge of her chair, waiting to pop a hand in the air at the first hint of a question. Ron was flipping idly through the pages of their very thick Potions textbook. Harry realized that they were learning about a Potion that might be very useful, so he put his thoughts of Tonks to the back of his mind, and began to take notes.

Their second class of the morning was Introduction to Magical Law, which failed to hold Harry’s attention after the first ten minutes or so. When he mentioned this to Hermione at lunch, she looked scandalized.

“Oh, how can you say that, Harry?” she gasped. Ron shook his head and gave Harry a better-you-than-me look. Harry refrained from rolling his eyes as Hermione continued her rhapsodizing about the fine points of Magical Law. “We have to know exactly what we’re permitted to do, Harry, or we could break laws ourselves, and that wouldn’t do at all! And we have to know what class of criminals we’re dealing with when we go into a situation--”

“All right,” Harry interrupted, knowing that Hermione was right, as usual. “You’re right, it’s very important. Er…I’ll be right back.” Hermione looked irritated at being cut off before she could list all the benefits to taking Magical Law, but Harry had seen Tonks walking into the lunchroom. He wanted to get her on her own for a minute before they had to go to another class. Nervously, he straightened his tie and made sure he hadn’t spilled any food on his clean shirt, then strode forward toward her, trying to look confident.

“Hi, Tonks,” he said, walking up to her. He felt stupid, he was always bad at talking to girls. But this girl--woman--wasn’t exactly a stranger. Especially after last night. He felt his face go hot at the thought of last night, and almost didn’t catch Tonks’ warm glance sliding up and down his body. He knew he must be bright red by the time she was done.

“Wotcher, Harry!” she said cheerfully. She was in the same normal-for-Tonks outfit of this morning, a simple black Auror’s robe over jeans and a t-shirt, but she looked as good to Harry as she had last night in her school-girl outfit.

“I was wondering--” he broke off, cleared his throat, tried again. “Are you free for dinner tonight?” The formal words sounded wrong to him, but he didn’t know how else to ask her.

Tonks gave him a long look. She was much shorter than he was, and he started to feel awkward as he looked down on her waiting for her answer. Finally, she gave a small sigh and said, “No, I’m sorry, Harry. I can’t have dinner with you tonight.”

Harry frowned. He wanted to ask why, but there was a distance, a coolness about Tonks that made him think that she’d just tell him to mind his own business.

“Oh,” he said. “Er…all right, then.” He started to turn away from her, hoping that she’d stop him to explain, or say that they could go out another night, but she didn’t. Confused and disgruntled, he returned to Ron and Hermione at the lunch table.

“All right there, Harry?” Ron asked quietly.

Harry shrugged and took a bite of his half-eaten sandwich.

“Did you ask her out, Harry?” Hermione said briskly. Harry glanced at her. Hermione had a way of using that no-nonsense voice for sensitive matters; it helped a bloke not be so embarrassed. He nodded.

“Huh,” said Ron, craning his neck to get another look at Tonks. “Never known you to move so fast, mate. Course, she did look incredible in that uniform thing yesterday--ouch! What? I wasn’t looking at her!”

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, very nice, Ron,” she snapped.

Harry laughed a bit, comforted by the familiar interaction between his best friends. His confusion and hurt about Tonks lingered, but he set it aside for the time being. It would work out. She was probably just busy.

“Do you lot have library time scheduled today?” Harry asked, checking his schedule. He hadn’t known he’d have to start working so soon, but the sheet of paper Tonks had handed out said that he was due to report to the library right after practicals.

Hermione and Ron glanced at their papers. “No, mate, not until tomorrow,” said Ron.

Hermione nodded. “My first one’s tomorrow, too. I can’t wait!” Her eyes shone with excitement.

Ron looked over at her and smirked. “Me, neither,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “There are all those hidden study areas, way back in the dark…”

Hermione looked truly shocked. “Ron!” she gasped. “This is the library!”

Harry laughed. “Geez, Hermione, it’s not like it’s a church or something.” 

“And there’s so much privacy…” Ron said.

Hermione turned pink and rose to gather her things. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go change for practicals,” she said. She walked off with her nose in the air, Ron watching after her. 

“It’ll take a few days,” Ron said confidently, “but she’ll come around.”

Ten minutes later, Ron and Harry emerged from the men’s locker room in their sweatpants and their official Auror t-shirts. The gym was a large, cavernous room with bleachers, equipment for dueling practice and mats placed around in various places. The trainees were gathering on the mats in a group around Tonks. Harry and Ron went to stand by Hermione, who smiled up at Ron, her irritation apparently forgotten. Harry figured Ron was probably right about Hermione giving in to shagging in the library. He slid a glance at Tonks, who wasn’t looking at him. She was now wearing her sweats, too, and holding her wand. Her hair and eyes were both purple.

“Is that everybody?” she called to the room. “All right then, I’ll be leading you in your practicals this term. We’ll concentrate on dueling, using spells that are standard N.E.W.T.-level and anything you’ve been learning in your classes. If it’s been covered in any class you’ve ever had, it’s acceptable. If you know it and your partner doesn’t, it’s acceptable. We’re not trying to play fair here, mates. We’re trying to win.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd of students. Some sounded excited, some sounded apprehensive. Harry looked around the group. He knew some of the other trainees from Hogwarts, and some were strangers to him, but he was pretty sure he could hold his own with any of them. The only ones he really figured would give him any competition were Hermione and Ron, who had trained as hard as he had the past few years.

“Potter,” Tonks called, looking over the heads of the other trainees to where he stood in the back. “Care to join me for a demonstration?”

“Er…sure,” Harry said. He made his way through the small crowd and stood in front of Tonks.

“Now, I know that if you went through Hogwarts, your defense teachers and Professor Dumbledore taught you proper form. Bowing and taking turns and all that. But this is not a tournament, mates, this is good guys versus bad guys. We can’t afford to be polite.” Tonks stepped back a few steps. Harry watched her warily.

“We deal with all sorts of dishonorable behavior,” she continued. “For instance, _Stupefy!”_ The red spell shot out of her wand in a flash, and Harry barely had time to yell _“Protego!”_ before it reached him.

“Nice one, Potter,” Tonks said. _“Reducto!”_

Harry blocked that one, too, as well as the next several that Tonks sent his way. He wasn’t sure what she expected from him. She kept shooting spells at him and he backed away as she advanced.

“All you need to do is incapacitate me, Potter. Is that so hard?” She shot another, silver spell at him. In response he sent a disarming spell in her direction, which she blocked easily. 

“All right, forget it, Potter,” she sneered, dropping her wand. “I thought you might challenge me, but I see I was wrong.” Unsure, Harry lowered his wand, and Tonks yelled, _“Reducto!”_ Harry spun through the air and hit the mat hard. The wind was knocked out of him, but his instincts took over. Flinging out his wand where he lay he yelled _“Stupefy!”_ and struck Tonks before she knew what was coming. She fell to the floor, her body flopping onto the mat with a slapping sound.

The other trainees looked at Harry, at Tonks, then back at Harry. After a moment of silence, Harry took a few steps to where Tonks lie, pointed his wand at her, then muttered, _“Ennervate!”_ Tonks’ eyes fluttered open, and in that split second Harry read the intent there. Before she got the word out of her mouth, Harry said, _“Expelliarmus!”_ and caught her wand in his hand. 

“Impressive, Potter,” Tonks said from the floor, and snapped her fingers. Ropes began to coil themselves around Harry’s legs, but he pointed his wand at them and muttered _“Finite.”_ Then he pointed it back at Tonks and said _“Petrificus Totalus!”_ Tonks’ body went rigid, though her eyes were sparkling as she looked up at him.

“Are we done?” he asked in a bored voice, feeling quite proud of himself. It wasn’t like he’d never dueled with anyone, but Tonks was good, and he knew he had impressed her.

Tonks, of course, couldn’t answer, so Harry freed her from her spell. With a speculative look at Harry, she turned to the class and divided them into pairs, showing them how to cast shield charms and making them practice coming out of Stuns with countercurses on their lips. After that display, nobody wanted to partner Harry, so he continued to duel with Tonks until their practicals for the day were over.


	6. Chapter 6

  
Author's notes: The only rule Tonks gave Harry was that he wasn't supposed to fall in love with her. But Harry's never been good with rules...  


* * *

**VI.**

Harry stepped out of the shower and dressed quickly in his slacks, tie, and Auror’s robe. He was due to start working in the library in five minutes, and he didn’t want to be late on his first day.

“See you later, mate,” he called to Ron as he headed toward the locker room doors.

“Yeah,” said Ron in a glum voice, “Hermione and I will be in there studying this afternoon, so I expect you will.” 

Harry grinned and ran a hand through his wet hair as he strode toward the library doors. He was grateful he had made such a good showing against Tonks in practicals. She was good, but he didn’t think she could beat him, and he was glad for it. He felt, somehow, like he was her equal, at least in this, even if she was senior to him in the department.

He and the other trainees gathered around the library’s massive circulation desk. Several Aurors came out and called the names of different trainees; Harry saw Madame Conover, their Potions teacher, pull away several of his classmates and head down a long aisle on the east end of the enormous room. He figured she was probably going to show them what work needed to be done in the Potions stacks. He wondered who he’d be working with when he saw Kingsley and Tonks emerge from one of the stacks nearby.

“Tonks tells me you did a good job dueling today, Mr. Potter,” said Kingsley in his slow, deep voice. 

Harry grinned and tried to look modest. It was difficult; he was very proud of himself. “Thank you, sir,” he said.

Kingsley studied him for a moment, then turned to Tonks. “Yes, I think you’re right. Let’s get him started in the back Defense section. Do you have time to show him around today?”

“Sure thing, boss,” said Tonks cheekily. Kingsley gave them a polite bow and walked on. Tonks turned to Harry. “This way, Potter,” she said crisply.

Harry followed her down the aisle, watching her hips sway as she walked. She was so businesslike, he was beginning to wonder if he had imagined last night. She hadn’t acknowledged at all that anything had happened between them. 

“All right, Potter,” Tonks said, gesturing at the rack of lit torches braced on the end of a tall bookshelf. “Grab a torch, because we’re going to go deep, and it gets dark back there. Ready?”

Harry nodded and grabbed a torch off the wall. The candle reflected off Tonks’ spiky purple hair, making it glow red and black in the flames. They walked, farther and farther back, the magic growing thicker in the air the longer they walked. They passed several of the living-room areas that Tonks had shown them the day before. Harry remembered that they were situated every quarter mile; after a time he realized they were more than a mile back from the main entrance.

Finally Tonks came to a halt in a living room area. She turned as Harry stopped, too, and said, “This is where you’ll start. You’ll work in this section for quite some time, because we want you to be very familiar with these books. Keep them straight, take them down, look them over, read them. We work as a team; everybody has a section they’re very familiar with, so we can draw on each other’s knowledge. Got it?”

Harry nodded, looking around at the very old books surrounding him. Their magic hummed under his skin.

“You were phenomenal this afternoon,” Tonks said, taking Harry completely by surprise. He glanced at her, eyebrows raised behind his glasses. “I couldn’t play it up in practicals, because it would have looked like favoritism, but it was all I could do to keep up with you, and I expect you were only matching me.”

Harry nodded, blushing slightly. Tonks took a step forward so that she was standing very close to him. “Nobody’s going to check on you back here, Harry,” she said quietly. “Nobody but me.”

Harry blinked. Tonks took his torch from him and placed both his and hers in the empty brackets on the end of the nearest shelf. Then she returned to him and stood very close again. Slowly she ran her hands up his chest. He swallowed hard. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her so that his ear was near her mouth.

“That kind of power really turns me on, Harry,” she murmured. She pressed herself against him.

Harry put his hands on her hips and pulled her to him. He kissed her with all the pent-up desire and confusion that had been wrestling within him all day. For the moment, he wasn’t confused at all. Even if he didn’t understand the way she acted all day, he understood this. She wanted him; she was making it very obvious. 

Harry kissed her harder, sliding his hands inside her robes to cup her buttocks. He had noticed she had a great butt, but looking at it was nothing compared to touching it. It was round and firm and tight, and his hands closed over it, squeezing her and lifting her toward him. Tonks moaned and returned the favor, sliding her hands around to grasp his as well.

“Merlin, you have a nice arse, Harry,” she murmured against his lips. 

“So do you,” he said, and thrust his tongue into her mouth. Her tongue met his and they continued to kiss, tongues intertwining, while their hands squeezed and rubbed. 

Harry was just working up the nerve to slide his hand up to her breast when she pulled back. 

“Go over there,” she ordered him, nodding to the couch. Harry did as she told him, dimly realizing that he would have walked off a bridge at that moment if she had wanted him to. Tonks followed him. “Lie down.”

He did, and Tonks removed her robe and did the same, coming down on top of him. She lay along his body and he could feel every inch of her. “Merlin, you’re fit, Tonks,” he said in awe.

“That I am,” Tonks agreed as she sat up and began to untie his tie. 

Harry grabbed her wrists, and he saw the flare of excitement in her eyes. “What are you doing?” he asked incredulously. “We’re in the library!”

“It’s not like it’s a church, Harry,” she smirked, and after a moment Harry laughed, recognizing his own words being thrown back at him. A second later he realized she must have been paying more attention to him than he thought, if he had overheard his remark at lunch. That thought pleased him and he grinned.

“All right, then,” he said, “if you’re sure we won’t get caught.”

“I’m sure,” she said, and resumed unbuttoning his shirt. “You ever done this before, Harry?”

Her hands were on his bare chest now, making hard for him to think. “Done what?”

Tonks laughed and let her hands wander down to his belt. “This, mate. Shagging, making love, fucking, having sex, doing the deed, getting it on, the horizontal-”

“All right!” Harry said. It came out half a laugh, half a moan. Tonks raised one violet eyebrow. “Er…no,” he said. “I mean, some of it, but not…not all the way.” He tried to sound casual, like it was no big deal, but he felt his face burning.

Tonks head fell back and she moaned, and Harry felt himself grow harder at the sight. “Merlin, Harry, I get to be your first? That is so wicked.”

Tonks pulled off her robe quickly and began to unbutton her own shirt. Harry’s mouth watered as her full breasts came into view. Pulling her wand out of her waistband, she gave it a flick and her bra vanished, leaving her hanging free inside her blouse. She bent over him, her knees on either side of his hips. “Touch me, Harry,” she moaned.

Harry had never been so glad to hear anything in his life. He reached up and pulled her shirt aside, filling his hands with her. She was firmer and fuller than Luna and she felt so good it was all he could do not to lose it right then. Taking a deep breath, he got himself under control and rubbed her breasts, squeezing her nipples until she bit her lip and moaned. She placed her hands on either side of his shoulders and crawled to a sitting position until she was straddling his waist. Leaning over him she said, “Suck me, Harry. Suck my tits.”

Harry was glad to oblige. Opening his mouth he took one nipple inside and began to suck on it. His breath began to come fast, and he was vaguely aware that Tonks was breathing heavily, too. “God, you’re good at that,” she panted. “Don’t stop.” 

She was so hot, Harry thought, dazed at his good fortune. She was in constant motion, rubbing her hands over his thighs, or over her own, rocking back and forth over his groin. While he sucked her, he managed to slide his hands inside her jeans, so that he was cupping her bare arse this time. Her skin was hot and smooth. 

“God, Harry, hang on,” Tonks said, her voice hoarse. She climbed up off him and removed the rest of her clothes, then pulled Harry up and quickly went to work on his clothes until they were both naked. Gently she reached up and pulled his glasses off his face and tossed them aside on top of the pile of discarded clothing.

“You’re so pretty, Tonks,” Harry said awkwardly, looking down at her. For some reason, he was moved by the sight of her beautiful body. He shifted uncomfortably. A strange expression crossed Tonks’ face, but before he had time to figure it out, she laid down on the couch and pulled him on top of her.

“First lesson, Harry,” Tonks said, though Harry was only half listening. He had filled his hands with her breasts again and had one nipple in his mouth. Tonks writhed beneath him, pressing her pelvis against his, grasping his shoulders in her strong hands.

“Lesson?” Harry muttered, moving his mouth and squeezing both nipples at once. He left her breasts and began kissing his way down her body. He had never seen such a beautiful body.

“What? Oh, right,” said Tonks, sounding confused and breathless. “First lesson, always let the woman go first, ‘cause women take longer.”

“Uh-huh,” Harry murmured against her flat stomach. His hand wandered across her hips and then, tentatively, to her thighs. He wasn’t sure what he was doing down here, but he was glad to be able to touch Tonks' legs, at least. He rubbed her thighs, his hand creeping slowly closer to the hot place between her legs. 

“Touch me there, Harry,” Tonks demanded on a moan. His hand was trembling slightly, but he slid it up the remaining distance until he was touching her. Tonks gasped and arched her back, so Harry applied a little more pressure. That got even more reaction; Tonks writhed and pushed herself against his hand. Harry was as hard as he had ever been, and he was getting desperate for relief, but it was so exciting to see Tonks like this. She was so wild.

He continued to rub between her legs, his fingers getting wet in the slick moisture that was pooled there. Shifting slightly, he lay alongside her and began to suck her nipples again while he rubbed her. The harder she pressed against him, the harder he rubbed and the harder he sucked. He was no longer in control of his motions, his mouth and hands seemed to know what to do, and he was free just to feel the sensations ripping through him.

Suddenly Tonks arched her back again and went rigid. She gasped and moaned loudly, then thrust herself against Harry’s hand over and over. Harry had never seen anything so exciting, and he knew he would lose it all if she didn’t let him inside right now.

As though she read his mind, Tonks grabbed for him and pulled him on top of her. “Now, Harry, please,” she gasped. “I want you inside me.” She wrapped her legs around his waist and used them to pull him closer.

Harry needed no further urging. Instinctively he positioned himself at her opening; she was slick and hot, and he slid in with one thrust. A hoarse moan escaped him. He had never felt anything like this. She was all around him, wet and tight. 

She thrust her hips up and murmured in his ear, “C’mon, baby, give it to me.” Harry’s began to thrust inside her, over and over. “Harder, baby,” Tonks groaned, and Harry thrust harder, ramming into her for all he was worth. Tonks was gasping again, her back arching again, but Harry barely noticed. His own body was racing toward release, and when it came he pumped himself into her, every cell in his body sizzling with the intensity of his orgasm. He could feel his seed pouring out of his body and into hers, making her passage even hotter, making him thrust even harder until he was finally spent.

Harry groaned and collapsed on top of Tonks. It was as though every atom of energy had been expelled out of him. He was quite sure he would never move again. Tonks felt warm and soft beneath him, so he wrapped his arms around her and prepared to fall asleep. It seemed perfectly obvious to him that that’s what should happen next.

But he had barely closed his eyes when he felt Tonks’ strong hands pushing against his shoulders. “Harry! Get up, mate.”

“Hmmm?” he murmured drowsily. “What for?”

Tonks laughed. “Because we both have to get back to work. You have to start going through all these books. And I have to study Death Eater activity reports so I know how to assign people next week.”

Harry groaned in disappointment, but rolled off Tonks, then promptly fell off the couch, ending up on his arse on the floor. Tonks laughed as she stood beside him and reached out a hand to help him up. He stood, though his legs still felt wobbly, and tried to pull her toward him. He just felt like he wanted to hold her for a few moments before they had to split up. But Tonks resisted him, frowning.

“We have to get going, Harry,” she said, pulling her hand away. “You’d better get dressed.”

Harry dropped his hand to his side. “Oh, er…right.” He looked around for his glasses, which were on the floor perilously close to his feet. He slid them on and began to put his clothes back on. He was vaguely disappointed that Tonks seemed eager to leave so quickly, but he supposed she was right. They were supposed to be working, after all.

“If you find anything useful in these old books, be sure to present it to the class in practicals,” Tonks instructed him, waving her hands toward the hundreds of books on the shelves in their section. She shrugged into her shirt and began buttoning it. “We can’t afford to lose any resources just because they’re in old books, all right?”

“All right,” Harry said uncertainly. He had finished dressing, so he shoved his hands in his robe pockets to keep them from reaching for her again. 

Tonks slid on her boots then stood beside the couch. “That was a lovely time, mate,” she said. Harry scowled; she was talking like they had just had tea or something. “I’m on assignment with Remus tonight, so I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”

“All right,” Harry said again. 

“Later, then,” Tonks said. She pulled her torch out of the bracket and strode off down the long dark aisle. 

Harry watched her go; his feelings so mixed up he could barely figure out what they were. He sank back onto the couch and ran a hand through his hair. He looked over at the cushions and grinned. He had just had sex! Right here on this couch! He and Tonks had shagged, and it had been incredible. He hoped it had been as good for her. He wasn’t an expert at this sort of thing, but she had seemed really into it. 

He rubbed his hand over the upholstery and remembered the way she had run off so quickly afterward. His body was utterly sated, but there was still some lingering dissatisfaction nagging at the back of his mind. He didn’t know what it meant, and try as he might, he couldn’t figure it out. He exhaled in frustration, then looked around at the bookshelves rising high above him.

Finally, feeling like his energy was returning, he stood. If he was responsible for knowing what was in all these old books, he’d better get started.


	7. Chapter 7

  
Author's notes: As far as Tonks was concerned, there was only one rule: he wasn't allowed to fall in love with her. But Harry's never been good at following rules.  


* * *

**VII.**

Harry worked two afternoons and two nights a week in the library. He was very glad that Kingsley and Tonks had assigned him this section; he was learning some obscure and very useful spells that he was sure hadn’t been taught in a long time. Many of them were difficult, too; when he presented them to the class at practicals, usually only he, Ron, Hermione, and Tonks were able to master them by the end of the hour. But he was sure Voldemort knew them, and that meant Harry had to know them, too.

On the days he presented new spells to the class, Tonks usually found him in his dark, deep section of the library and they would shag on the couch or on the floor of Harry’s isolated aisle. Harry had to admit that impressing Tonks was a serious motivating factor in his study of the Defensive spells in his stacks; the more power or skill a spell required, the more eager Tonks was to be with him afterward. He found himself thinking of her all the time, wishing he were with her, hoping to find some time between studying, classes, and Order assignments, to be with her. He wanted to take her out to someplace nice, to do things for her, but she never let him, so he ended up spending a lot of time in the library.

At the moment he was standing on a tall ladder, so high up in his section that he doubted he could be seen from the floor. He didn’t know if Tonks was planning to come see him back here or not today, but he was trying to hurry in case she was waiting. He pointed his wand a few shelves up and levitated down the book he had been looking for, **Charmes and Spelles for the Goode of the Bodye.** It was an old book, as were most of the ones back here, but it contained healing charms for common ailments and injuries, as well as some complex spells to invoke glamour for certain types of disguises. Harry figured that could come in handy, so he grabbed the book out of the air and made his way quickly down the ladder to the living room section.

He pulled a butterbeer out of the magically cooled box, popped the top, and began to read, though it was difficult to concentrate. His thoughts kept returning to last night, when he had been working and Tonks had come to find him. Tonks had gone down on her hands and knees and told him to enter her from behind. It had been a new experience for Harry, one he hoped to repeat. He felt like he had gone deeper into her than he had ever been, and the sight of her tight butt wriggling as he rammed himself into her made it even hotter than usual. She had been so loud that even in his state of intense arousal he’d had to pause and cast a silencing charm around them, so that they wouldn’t be heard. 

Just the memory had him growing hard again, and he reached under his robes to adjust himself. He peered down the dark aisle, but she didn’t seem to be heading his way, so once again he tried to concentrate on his reading. He flipped through the book, looking for something interesting he could present to the class. In a later chapter, he saw just the thing, and he laughed out loud. It gave instructions on how to use glamour to appear as an animal to those looking at you, and Harry had to smile when he saw the complex instructions on how to make someone think they were looking at a slimy purple slug. It looked uncannily like the ones Ron had vomited up their second year at Hogwarts.

Still laughing, he decided he had to show Ron. He would love for Ron to learn how to make himself appear as a slug; he could just imagine how Mrs. Weasley would react. He made his way north down the long aisle, and after a half a mile turned east. Ron was also working in the Defense stacks, though his books weren’t as old as the ones Harry was working with. Harry heard voices and turned in their direction, still grinning as he glanced down at the glamour spell in the book. 

He came around the corner of a bookcase, and stopped dead in his tracks. Ron and Hermione were there, on the couch. They were half dressed, and Hermione was pinned under Ron, murmuring, “No, Ron, we shouldn’t do this, we’ll get caught.” Though Harry noticed she didn’t seem to be struggling as Ron’s hands caressed her breasts.

“We won’t get caught,” Ron whispered. “Nobody ever comes down here. Anyway, if you didn’t want me to make a pass at you, you shouldn’t have worn that skirt. You know what it does to me.” Harry stepped back into the shadows as Ron’s hands slid under Hermione’s skirt. He swallowed hard. He had noticed that particular skirt, too, and how much of Hermione’s legs it left bare. He felt guilty for noticing; Hermione was his friend, and Ron’s girlfriend. He had no business noticing her legs. Even if they were wrapped around Ron’s waist at the moment.

Harry risked a look between the shelves. From where he stood he could see Ron lying between Hermione’s legs, he could hear Hermione gasp as Ron entered her. Harry bit his lip to keep from groaning. He didn’t like Hermione that way, but she was very pretty and fit, and there she was naked, her breasts bouncing with every thrust, her head flung back in passion. He slid his hand inside the pocket of his slacks and started to rub himself. Then he stopped and realized that he would have to go back to his own section. He was hard as a rock from watching his two best friends shagging, and if they caught him back here it would make things very awkward between them.

He walked as quickly as he could in his present state. Images of Hermione kept flashing through his head and he kept shaking his head as though to shake them loose. It wasn’t working. By the time he had walked the half-mile back to his own stacks, he was utterly frustrated. He threw himself down on the couch, the old book still clutched in his hand, and was on the verge of taking care of himself when there was a pop, and Tonks Apparated next to him.

She was pink-haired and blue-eyed today, and wore the torn jeans and t-shirt she wore when she didn’t have to look professional. Harry exhaled in relief. Maybe she’d help him out of his predicament.

“Hi, Tonks,” he said, looking up at her from his prone position on the couch.

“Hey, mate,” Tonks said, grinning down at him. “Waiting for me?”

“You could say that,” Harry smiled and reached for her. She allowed him to pull her toward him. “I just saw Ron and Hermione shagging over in Ron’s section and it got me all worked up.”

“I see,” said Tonks, sitting down next to him on the couch. There was a gleam in her eye. “Was this because of the shagging, or because you got to see the fair young Hermione all hot and naked?”

Harry felt his face go red. “Er…I don’t know,” he said, looking away from her. Her hands began to massage the muscles of his chest.

“Harry, I want you to tell me something honestly, all right?” Her hands were caressing down his muscular stomach.

“All right,” Harry said, all his attention on her strong, skilled hands.

“Have you ever fantasized about fucking Hermione?”

Harry grabbed Tonks around her slender waist and pulled her on top of him. He kissed her hard and hot. Tonks kissed him back, plunging her tongue into his mouth. Harry started to lift her shirt, but she pulled back.

“Have you?” she asked insistently.

Harry hesitated. He didn’t know what he was supposed to say. “Er…yeah. I guess so,” he muttered.

“I thought so,” Tonks said, but she didn’t seem mad. She had that mischievous look on her face that Harry found so cute. 

Tonks braced her hands on his chest. “Harry, do you remember when I told you I’m a unique person?” 

“Yeah,” Harry said, looking up at her.

Tonks scrambled off him, then tripped and fell on her arse on the floor. Harry grinned, and Tonks rolled her eyes. “Be right back, mate,” she said, getting up and dashing around a corner. Harry heard a muttered spell, then someone came around the corner.

It was Hermione. It had to be. She was wearing the same short skirt she’d worn today, she was carrying a stack of books against her chest, and she was biting her lip anxiously. She looked up at Harry through her curly brown bangs.

Harry shot up off the couch. He honestly wasn’t sure if this was Tonks or if it was Hermione, but then she tripped and dropped the books, and Harry sighed with relief. It was Tonks. Hermione would never drop a stack of old, valuable books. But Harry didn’t know that Tonks was this good, because he’d have bet everything he was looking at his best friend.

“Oh, honestly,” the woman in front of him said, her hands on her hips, looking down at the mess on the floor. “Harry, would you mind…?” She glanced at him with the exact right mixture of exasperation and hesitation.

“Er…sure,” Harry said, forgetting that this was a game. He stepped forward and knelt down on the floor, forgetting to use magic, forgetting that he should have known what was coming next. 

Hermione knelt beside him and her hand came up to his shoulder. He jerked back and glanced up at her. Her eyes were very dark and wide, and she bit her bottom lip again. “Harry? I know I shouldn’t do this, but I can’t stop thinking about you…” She gave him a tentative smile.

“You…you can’t?” Harry asked, his throat suddenly dry. It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real, he kept reminding himself. But it felt very real, with Hermione kneeling there next to him, her hand now massaging his shoulder.

She turned so that she was facing him, and now both hands were rubbing his shoulders. They were hot, even through the material of his robe and shirt. “No, I can’t. I have always wondered what it would be like. I notice things about you, Harry…” She knelt up and began to place open-mouthed kisses on his neck.

Harry placed his hands on her waist to steady himself. “What do you notice?” he whispered. He couldn’t believe he was doing this.

“I notice your strong shoulders,” Hermione murmured, “and your muscular arms,” her hands dropped down to squeeze his biceps, “and your broad chest. I’ve noticed how you watch me sometimes, and you wish it was you I was shagging instead of Ron.” 

“I don’t…” Harry objected vaguely, as he felt her tongue circle the rim of his ear.

“It’s okay,” she sighed into his ear, “I wish that sometimes, too.” She pulled back and slid out of her robe, then started to unbutton her shirt. Her breasts were freed in a moment, and she reached out and took his hand. He was shaking as she placed his hand on her breast. He groaned and closed his eyes.

Quickly he opened his eyes and looked dead into hers. For a second he was fully aware it was Tonks he was talking to, not Hermione. “Ron can never find out about this,” he said grimly.

Hermione wrinkled her nose in a very Tonks-like way. “Of course not, Harry,” she said. “Honestly, I won’t tell. It’s our secret.”

She looked and sounded like Hermione again, and Harry gave himself up to the illusion. “I knew you’d be hot,” he growled, pulling her to him. He lifted her slightly and sucked hard on her nipple. “Everyone thinks you’re so prim, but I knew what you’d be like.”

He was still kneeling, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He slid his hands under her short little skirt and discovered that she wasn’t wearing any panties. He pulled back and raised his eyebrows at her and she gave him that anxious Hermione look. “I’m not always a good girl, Harry,” she said. “I can’t help myself sometimes.”

Harry let his fingers wander under her skirt while he kissed her mouth. He slid his fingers over her bottom and into the moist opening between her legs. She was working feverishly to unbutton his shirt as they kissed, though she stopped and gasped as his long finger entered her pussy. He slid it in and out and her breath came faster and faster. Finally she just tore his shirt off, flinging buttons everywhere. Horrified, she slapped a hand to her mouth in shock.

“I’m sorry, Harry!” she said.

“Are you?” he asked. “I guess you’ll have to make it up to me.”

She turned pink. “How?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Suck me,” he answered. “Now, do it now.”

“All right, Harry,” she said meekly, then she climbed off him and pushed him back so that he was lying on the floor.

Quickly she unbuckled his belt and unzipped his trousers. His erection sprang free as she worked his trousers and briefs down past his hips. She gasped. “Oh, my, Harry, you’re so big!”

“Suck me,” he ordered her. She bent over him, and took him in her hand, then opened her mouth over his cock. Harry watched as Hermione drew his length into her mouth and began to suck on him. He was watching one of his most secret fantasies come true.

He knew he could come in her mouth and she would like it, but he didn’t want that. After a few minutes, when he felt himself getting close, he pulled her off him and rolled her over to the floor. He plunged his hand between her legs and began to suck her tits again. He rubbed her in rhythm with his sucking, and she soon began to thrust against him in the same rhythm. He could see she was getting close, and he said, “Tell me you want it.”

“Oh, yes, Harry, please,” she said. 

He climbed on top of her and positioned himself between her legs. Her short little skirt was up around her waist. He looked at her face--at Hermione’s face!-while he entered her, remembering how she looked when he had seen her shagging Ron, remembering all the times he had wondered what it would be like to touch her, watching her now as her head was flung back and her wild hair all over the place. He thrust over and over, feeling her breasts bounce against his chest. She tightened around him and he thrust harder, until he felt her muscles convulsing and heard her moans and gasps of relief. He rammed harder and harder, looking at her face the whole time, until his own orgasm overpowered him and he had to squeeze his eyes shut while he poured everything into her. He went rigid, then limp, and clung to her as violent aftershocks wracked his body.

He looked up, and realized he could see her face clearly. He hadn’t even taken his glasses off. She still looked like Hermione, and for a panicked second he was afraid he had actually done the unthinkable and shagged his best friend’s girl. She reached up and caressed his face.

“Want me to change back now?” she said, and Harry got the impression she knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Er…yeah,” he said, and watched as she changed, her brown hair turning pink, her brown eyes turning blue, her legs and arms and breasts changing back to Tonks’. He was still inside her, but she was a different person now.

“That,” he said, “was very strange.”

Tonks laughed. “Good strange or bad strange?”

“Well,” Harry said, rolling off her and grabbing them each butterbeers from the box, “It was amazing. I mean it was so hot and felt really good. I just think maybe it shouldn’t have felt so good…” he shrugged and took a sip of his butterbeer.

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” she reminded him gently.

“I know,” he said, glancing over at her. “But somehow I don’t think Ron or Hermione would see it that way.”

Tonks laughed and some of her butterbeer sloshed on her bare skin. “You gonna tell them, mate?”

Harry smiled. “No, I guess not.”

Tonks studied him with that gleam in her eye. “I can be whoever you want, Harry. We can have a lot of fun with it.”

He looked into her eyes. “What if I want you, Tonks?” he asked.

She raised a pink eyebrow. “I can do that, too.”

He didn’t look away from her. “Then come to the Cannons game with me tonight,” he said. “I have tickets.”

Tonks got up and started to dress. “Sorry, mate,” she said casually, pulling her jeans up her legs and wiggling into them. 

“Why not?” he demanded. “Why won’t you ever go out with me, Tonks? Why is it only ever shagging with you?”

She glanced down at him where he sat leaning against the couch. “You don’t like shagging?”

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I like it. You know I like it. I just thought…”

“I have to get back to work,” she said, cutting him off. “I’ll see you later, all right?”

“Yeah, fine,” he muttered, but he doubted she heard him since the cracking sound of her Disapparation drowned out the words. He picked up his book and pulled himself up onto the couch. He would give the Cannons’ tickets to the twins. He didn’t much feel like going to the game, anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

  
Author's notes: As far as Tonks was concerned, there was only one rule: he wasn't allowed to fall in love with her. But Harry has never been good at following rules...  


* * *

**VIII.**

Harry changed his clothes and went straight to the weight room at Grimmauld Place. He had had the best sex of his life that afternoon--though he wouldn’t examine too carefully that it had been with Hermione. Sort of. He shrugged to himself as he placed the bar over his shoulder and began his squats. It hadn’t really been Hermione, he reminded himself. It was just a fantasy. It was one of the benefits of dating a metamorphmagus, he figured, as he bent under the weights and pushed back up again. Except they weren’t dating. They were only shagging. 

That thought was crowded out as he pushed his body harder than usual; it took more concentration once he got past his usual limit. That was fine with him; he didn’t want to think about Tonks, anyway. His legs burned as he pushed up, and up, and up. He had done twenty over his usual reps when he heard the clanking of another barbell. He looked up and saw Ron sliding onto the bench and placing his hands in position.

“Gonna spot me?” Ron said, bending his head backward and looking through the gap between the bars. Harry laid his own weights down carefully and came and stood near Ron. The two men worked out in silence for a while, only speaking to count reps. The silence and the rhythm were soothing to Harry. It was something he could understand. He rolled his shoulders to release some of the tension, then grabbed the bar as Ron lifted it to place it back in the brackets.

Ron wiped his neck with the towel lying across it. Harry sat on the other bench and picked up the freeweights and started to work his biceps. Ron moved over to the squat machine, sliding a glance at Harry as he stepped past him. Harry scowled, nearly breaking his rhythm. Lift, inhale, lower, exhale, lift, inhale, lower, exhale… It was obvious that Ron had something to say. Fortunately, he couldn’t say it while he was doing squats; they took all a bloke’s breath.

Harry finished with the free weights and moved to the butterflies. He knew Ron wouldn’t try to talk to him now, and in an effort to avoid conversation he increased his reps. Eventually, though, he had to stop. He left the room, filled two bottles of water, then returned. Ron had finished with his squats and was now working his arms as Harry had done a few moments before. Harry silently set the water down next to Ron and walked over to position his body on the steeply slanted board they used for crunches. Hooking his feet under the padded cylinders at the top, he began to do the crunches. He heard Ron take a long drink from the water bottle but ignored him. He knew that if he looked over at his best mate, he would see that his ears were pink and his jaw was grimly set. That was the way Ron always looked when he was trying to work up his nerve to say something.

A sudden thought struck Harry, and he nearly fell sideways off the board. What if Ron had somehow found about what he and Tonks had done this afternoon? He turned his head on his way up, glancing at Ron. Ron looked just as he had expected, pink ears and all, but he didn’t look mad. He had a strong sense that Ron would punch him first and ask questions later if he knew about today. He exhaled on the way back down, then crunched up again. Again. Again.

Ron put down the freeweights. Took another drink of water. Wiped his face on his towel. Harry crunched up. Down. Up. Down. Up.

Finally Ron spoke. “So, mate, you gonna tell me what’s up with you and Tonks?” Ron started to stretch his arms and shoulders.

Harry finished his last crunch and rolled off the slanted bench. He took another swig of water from the bottle, then began his own stretching routine.

“I don’t know,” he finally said.

Ron snorted with exasperation. “C’mon,” he said. “You watch her all the time. And you’re always asking her out, but she never says yes.”

Harry frowned. “How d’you know I’m always asking her out?”

Ron rolled his eyes, then turned to the wall to stretch his calves. “Between me and Hermione, we know you pretty well, mate.”

“Yeah, all right,” Harry said, turning to stand next to Ron, his hands pressed against the wall as he stretched his own calves. Suddenly he was glad that Ron had asked, even if there were certain details he couldn’t reveal. “You can’t tell Hermione, all right?”

Ron shrugged. “If you like.” He grabbed his ankle, balanced himself against the wall, and stretched out a hamstring.

Harry switched calves. “We’re not dating. She won’t date me. But we’re shagging.”

Ron lost his balance and had to release his ankle and catch himself against the wall. “What? You’re shagging Tonks?” He began to laugh. Then he slapped Harry on the back. “Good for you, mate! She’s really fit. How long has this been going on?”

Harry couldn’t help but grin; there was nothing like impressing another male, after all. “Since our first week of training. But it’s weird, Ron,” he said, grabbing his ankle and stretching his hams, “it’s totally just shagging. I keep asking her out to dinner, to Quidditch, whatever, but she won’t go. I’m starting to feel a bit used…” He grinned at this last, because he knew it was expected, and Ron grinned back. But Harry wasn’t entirely sure he was joking.

Ron finished his stretches and sat on the bench to wait for Harry to finish. He shook his head. “Sounds simpler that way, to tell you the truth. Do you fancy her?”

Harry stilled for a moment. “I don’t know,” he admitted, continuing with his routine. “Yeah, I do. She’s really fun, and the sex is great.” He refused to allow himself to be interrupted by any specific thoughts of sex with Tonks. “I guess,” he reached for the water bottle, “I guess I just feel like we should be dating if we’re going to be shagging. And maybe like I really could fancy her a lot more if she let me.”

“Yeah, I see what you mean,” Ron said. Then he stood abruptly. “Hermione’s working tonight, but Kingsley pulled me for an assignment for the Order. You up for it?”

“Yeah,” said Harry. “Let me hit the shower first. You can use Remus’.” The two men headed off toward the showers. Ten minutes later Harry joined Ron in the entry hall and they slipped quietly out the front door of Grimmauld Place. 

“So, what’s this assignment?” Harry asked as they walked quickly down street. “Shouldn’t we be Apparating somewhere?”

Ron shook his head and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “No, I think… it’s at a Muggle shop somewhere…here, do you know where this is? Kingsley said it was near here.” He thrust the paper at Harry who peered down at it in the dusky light.

“Er…yeah…it’s just this way…” They turned the corner and walked past a row of Muggle shops. “Here, the alley’s this way. They’ll probably Apparate back there.” Ron and Harry quickly found places to hide and applied Disillusionment Charms to themselves. Deep in the shadows they were almost invisible. 

As soon as full dark fell, the hooded figures began to Apparate into the alley one by one. There were several that Harry recognized by now simply by their height or body type, even if he couldn’t see their faces. This meeting had some new, young Death Eaters attending; he recognized Draco Malfoy’s tall thin form, and the boulder-like figures of the younger Crabbe and Goyle. Suddenly Harry jabbed Ron in the ribs; an unfamiliar figure had Apparated alone into the alley and was making its way to the door. The figure was shorter than most of the others and moved more gracefully, making Harry think it was probably a woman. 

They knew the drill. It was up to them to find out the identities of any new Death Eaters so that the Order could set a watch on them. Ron jerked his head, indicating that he was going around to the front to try and get a look in the shop. Harry nodded, and Ron slunk off without a sound. Harry stayed close to the wall and slid nearer to the door, wand held in position. After ten more minutes no more Death Eaters had arrived, but Harry didn’t dare get any closer to the back door; he knew it would be guarded with detection spells to keep out spies such as him. Silently he tested the boundaries of the Impervious Charm, and after several minutes of patient prodding with his wand, he found a weak spot. Carefully he pulled his Extendable Ears, which were now standard equipment for the Order, out of his pocket and slid them through the miniscule crack between the spell and the wall. He held his breath; a misjudgment would set off the alarms and provoke a battle right here, and he wanted to avoid that.

Finally he got one of the long stringy Ears in and guided it with his wand to the door. The other he stuck in his own ear, being careful not to pull on the string between them. He knew Ron was doing the same thing on the other side of the building, and he listened for any sounds of trouble with his other ear. He had gotten good at attending to two things at once.

A few minutes later Ron gave an almost inaudible signal from the end of the alley, and Harry carefully reeled his Extendable Ear in. He had heard enough to be useful to the Order, though the new information weighed heavily on him. Ron signaled again, more urgently, and Harry turned and made his way through the shadows to the end of the alley. Ron led the way as they ran down the street, around the block, and back to Grimmauld Place. Raising his wand, he unspelled the door and both men stumbled into the entry hall, slamming the door behind them.

“What was that about?” Harry asked, breathing only slightly heavier than usual.

Ron Illusioned himself, then turned and made his way to the kitchen. He called over his shoulder, “Could you hear everything?”

Harry shook his head as he did his own Illusionment. “No, but enough to know that there’s a new Death Eater. They marked her right there.” He could still hear her quiet sobs of pain as she had been branded.

“Yeah, I got that, too, but I couldn’t tell who it was, “ Ron said, pulling two beers from the magically cooled cupboard. He handed one to Harry. “But did you hear the part about how they’re going to try to get her to get information from you?”

“Me?” Harry said, surprised. “No, I missed that. Shit.” He sat heavily in a kitchen chair and took a drink of his beer. “Did you hear who it was?”

“Nope,” Ron said, looking at Harry inquiringly. 

Harry sighed. “It was Cho.”

Ron gave a low whistle. Harry grinned cynically, drank his beer. “Yeah. Fuck.”

“What’ve they got on her?” Ron asked. “What can they offer her? She’s got to be just a puppet.”

“Yeah,” Harry said again. “I guess I’ll have to let her get close enough so that I can see if she’s being controlled.”

“Damn, I wish this was over!” Ron said violently. Harry could think of no response to that that wasn’t redundant, so he just sipped his beer again and they sat in silence. 

Finally, Ron finished his beer and looked at his watch. “Listen, Hermione’s getting off work right now, and I want to make sure she gets home all right. I’ll report to Kingsley tomorrow, all right?”

“All right, then,” Harry nodded and finished his own beer. Ron grabbed a handful of Floo powder and tossed it into the fireplace, yelled, “The Ministry!” and was gone. 

Harry tipped back in his chair. He envied Ron. Not because Hermione was dead sexy (he resolutely pushed thoughts of that afternoon out of his head), but because he had someone to go to when the war stripped away one more ideal, one more friendship. Ron had one person to cling to, but Harry had no one. He wished Tonks were here, anyway. Somehow, even if it were just shagging, it would be nice to be close to her. 

Harry had just decided to make his way up the stairs to bed when the hearth flared again and Remus stepped through. He looked as tired and dispirited as Harry felt, and as their eyes met Harry felt the understanding between them. 

“Rough night, Remus?” Harry asked, summoning a beer out of the cupboard and sending it to him.

Remus took it, eyeing Harry closely. “Very rough, but at least there was no fighting tonight. You?”

Harry shrugged. “Same.”

“Here,” Remus said, conjuring something out of the air. “I brought take-out.”

Harry grabbed it thankfully. The two men dug into the Chinese food cartons and ate in silence for a while.

“Any idea when this is going to end, Remus?” Harry asked finally, looking up through his bangs.

Remus sighed. “I wish I knew,” he said. “What happened tonight?”

“They got a new recruit, a girl I knew from Hogwarts. If you see a pretty dark-haired girl hanging around me, it’s because she’s trying to get information.”

“A friend of yours?

Harry set his jaw. “I thought she was. Not any more.” 

Remus apparently had nothing to say to that, so they finished their takeout without talking. Finally Remus stood and said, “I’m going to work out before bed. See you in the morning.”

“Right,” Harry nodded, then headed up to his own lonely bed.


	9. Chapter 9

  
Author's notes: As far as Tonks was concerned, there was only one rule; he wasn't allowed to fall in love with her. But Harry's never beem good at following rules...  


* * *

**IX.**

Harry left work early the next day. He knew that Hermione was giving him that concerned look of hers, and he appreciated it, even if the memories of what he and Tonks had done made it so that he hadn’t quite been able to meet Hermione’s eyes for most of the morning. Still, he reminded himself, they hadn’t done anything wrong, and Hermione was one of his best friends. It gave him some comfort to be reminded that even if he didn’t have someone special, even if he couldn’t lean on Tonks the way Ron and Hermione leaned on each other, he did have friends who cared for him. 

He couldn’t get last night’s Death Eater meeting out of his head. He had known Cho for seven years. He had dated her, kissed her, shared terrible grief with her, played some of his best Quidditch matches against her. It just didn’t seem right that she could betray him now. He was sure she was a victim in this set-up; Cho had never been strong-minded like Hermione or stubborn like Ginny Weasley. Cho would never be able to throw off the Imperius Curse or withstand pain if someone was trying to control or force her.

He didn’t know why Cho’s betrayal would hurt worse than any others, but he sensed it was a turning point for him. He needed to study harder, because this war had to end soon. How many more weak but innocent witches and wizards would become puppets in Voldemort’s hands? 

Harry stepped out of the green flames in his hearth and walked heavily through the kitchen and up his stairs to his bedroom. Normally he would work out when he was confused or angry, but he didn’t feel like it today. He had no energy, had had none since hearing Cho being branded a Death Eater. Listlessly he tossed his glasses onto the dresser and flopped himself down on his unmade bed and stared at the blurry ceiling. For a few minutes he found himself missing Luna. She had always been so comforting and comfortable, and he was in need of that right now. He dozed off in the middle of soothing thoughts about his ex-girlfriend. He dreamed of her quiet, airy, undemanding presence, and the comfort of her light, smooth touch.

Somewhere in his sleep he felt someone touch him, and before he was fully awake he had grabbed a wrist and flipped the someone over. His wand was in his hand and at that person’s throat before his eyes opened. It was only as he opened his eyes that he realized that a wand was being held at his own throat as well. He blinked, and Tonks’ face came into focus. 

Harry relaxed, but Tonks kept her wand raised. “All right then, Harry?” she asked warily. 

Harry pulled back. “Yeah, all right,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. “Sorry about that.” He squinted down at her. 

Finally Tonks lowered her wand. “Good reflexes, mate,” she said approvingly. Harry was still sleepy, but he didn’t miss the flash of excitement in her eyes. He knew that Tonks was excited by power, but right now he didn’t have it in him to give her what she wanted.

Tonks was watching him, still lying where he had thrown her. “What’s up with you, Harry?” she asked. “Hermione told me you left work early. That’s not like you.” 

Harry sighed. He’d like to think he could talk to Tonks, but the truth was, he wasn’t sure. Finally, he ran his hand through his hair and said, “It’s just been getting to me, the war and all. Last night Ron and I found out that a friend of ours has been recruited by the Death Eaters.”

Tonks nodded, and a look of deep sadness crossed her face. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment. “That’s happened to me several times,” she finally said, and Harry was sure she was recalling a specific memory. “It’s always worse when it’s people you know.”

Harry leaned back against the pillows and Tonks shifted next to him, so that she lay beside him. They both stared up at the ceiling, though Harry couldn’t see it very clearly.

“What were you dreaming about, mate?” Tonks asked him. “You were smiling.”

Harry raised his eyebrows. “Was I?”

“Mmm hmmm.”

“I don’t really know,” Harry said. “I fell asleep thinking about Luna.”

Tonks turned and propped herself up on her elbow. “Luna Lovegood? What about her?”

Harry blew out a breath. “She used to be my girlfriend. I was missing her, I guess. She always seemed to know how to make me feel better.”

“What is she like, Harry?” Tonks asked. “I don’t know her very well.”

Harry shrugged. “She’s hard to explain. It was like…well, sometimes she was just out there, and you felt like what you were seeing was all there was. And sometimes she was…I dunno…like you could never understand her if you had a million years. And she always had this peace, nothing could shake it, and sometimes being with her made me peaceful, even if I didn’t understand how she could be like that.”

“But she understood you?”

“Yeah,” Harry said.

“That sounds nice.”

“It was, sometimes,” Harry said. “I’m not…I’m not always good at explaining myself.”

“You don’t say,” Tonks said wryly. Harry laughed softly. He felt Tonks shift on the bed beside him.

“Harry,” Tonks said, “it’s time for lesson number two.”

“What?” Harry said turning his head toward her. She had changed. She was taller, more slender, and her hair had grown long and blonde. She looked at him with mysterious and misty grey eyes.

“Lesson number two,” she said, and now her voice was the lower, musical voice he would recognize anywhere, “is that sometimes shagging is more than shagging.”

“It is?” Harry asked softly, and deep inside him he felt some of his tension begin to dissipate.

“Oh, yes,” said Luna, in a dreamy voice. “It can be more than just fun, you know. It can be comfort, or hope, or celebration.” Slowly and gracefully she moved toward him and straddled his hips. She was wearing one of the flowing, silky skirts he always loved to watch billow around her long legs. “It can be whatever people need, when they’re lonely or sad or afraid.”

He had wanted to make love with Luna when they were dating. He had hoped, before he left Hogwarts, that they would take that step, but they had broken up, instead. But here she was, her gentle, graceful hands, brushing lightly across his chest, leaving streaks of glittering warmth in their trail. He felt his whole body growing warm, every inch of his skin. He found it much easier to sink into the illusion this time. He closed his eyes and ran his hands up and down her thighs. For a long time, she just stroked him gently, his chest, his arms, his belly. She raised his hand and kissed his fingers, one by one, then turned it and planted a sensuous kiss on the palm of his hand. Slowly, she worked her way down his palm and kissed the pulse point on the inside of his wrist. She gently replaced that hand on the bed and lifted the other one, kissing fingers, palm and wrist. When she set it down, Harry let his hands wander of their own accord, softly up and down her body. Arms, ribs, waist, hips, thighs. She was so soft and smooth. 

Harry’s eyes were still closed, and he felt lost in the sweet sensations. He wasn’t even sure he was still lying on his bed; there was just the feel of Luna’s willowy arms and legs. He almost felt dizzy with the feelings, and the only anchor he had was her light, lithe body. She stretched out over him and brought her mouth close to his for a few moments. Her sweet breath flowed into his mouth and he opened his mouth to take in more of it. His hands closed around her hips and held her to him. Her tongue darted out to trace his lips and he drew in a sharp breath. Her hands framed his face and she licked his lips, tongue, and teeth, until he pressed his mouth fully to hers for a deep kiss. With that kiss he began to gain the comfort he had been seeking. She poured it into him and he began to feel healed and energized. He smiled under her mouth and felt her smile in return. He knew in his head that this was Tonks, that he was pretending it was Luna, but somehow it didn’t matter who she was. She gave him everything he needed.

Harry wrapped his arms around her and sat up. Her long skirt flowed as he cradled her in his arms. He kissed her deeply, again and again. She let him lead now, her soft hands caressing everywhere she could reach, never making a jerky movement, never demanding, always giving. She was so feminine; she made him feel strong and masculine. He kissed her more aggressively, and she matched him. His hands were hard and calloused, and he tried to be gentle with her as he slid them under her blouse. She wore no bra, only a satin chemise, and he stroked her through it. She began to make little noises in her throat, and broke off their kiss to drop her head back. Her long, long hair flowed down to the floor, and suddenly Harry wanted to see her as he had so many times in his dreams, naked before him, wrapped in nothing but that long pale hair. 

He stood easily, and set her gently on her feet. Kneeling in front of her he slid her skirt off her hips, over her bare feet, and tossed it aside. Then he pulled off her blouse and chemise. Her hair fell past her waist, covering her small breasts and flowing over her shoulders. Harry took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her chest. She closed her arms around him, too, holding him and stroking his hair. They held each other for a long moment, and Harry felt his tension and discouragement dissipate. 

He stood and allowed Luna to undress him. Her hands were deft and graceful. When he was naked she ran her hands over him, moaning deep in her throat at the feel of his hard body. Every gentle touch aroused him more, until he was standing straight out. He pulled her toward him and kissed her, tangling his hands in her silky hair. Backing up, he fell onto the bed with her in his arms. She was so light and slender, he lifted her and placed her over his stomach. She leaned over his face and kissed him, her hair making a curtain around them so that they were the only two in the world. He stroked her breasts gently, then, not quite so gently, pulled her up to his face so he could take her nipples into his mouth. She was smaller than Tonks or Hermione, he could fit nearly her whole breast into his mouth. He did so, flicking her nipples with his tongue. She wriggled against him and he sucked harder, still trying to be careful, but finding he wasn’t entirely in control any more.

Luna pulled back from his mouth and slid down his abdomen. He could feel the wetness between her legs as she slid across him. She positioned herself over his erection and slid down on him. Both of them gasped at the sensation, and Harry grasped her hips and thrust up. Luna rode up and down on his shaft, and Harry reached out a hand and rubbed her clit as she rode him. Her movements were graceful and smooth, even in this, and Harry felt like he could go on like this for a long time. But finally, her movements changed, just a bit, and she threw her head back and gasped his name. It was a beautiful thing to watch, and he felt the soft ripples of her climax around him. It pushed him softly but inexorably over the edge and he thrust up into her again and again. He had never had an orgasm last so long, he thought in amazement as he pulled her down onto him over and over. It was like nothing he had ever felt. She was drawing everything from him, and giving him only pleasure and contentment in return.

Finally, she collapsed on top of him, her hair covering them both like a blanket. Harry gave one last long thrust, and was done. He felt his wet seed spilling out of her and back onto him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her while they recovered. 

She truly had brought him some comfort, he thought. It seemed to him that lesson number two was a very important one.

A few moments later she stirred. Her hair was still long and blonde, but it was Tonks’ face that looked up at him. “Feel better, Harry?”

Harry nodded, smiled. “Yeah, I do.”

Tonks smiled back, then pushed against his chest. Harry let her get up, though he didn’t want her to. He was only beginning to understand something about what had just happened.

Tonks pulled her old clothes from their pile on the floor and began to dress herself.

“Tonks?”

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t need Luna for that,” he said.

She gave him a quizzical look and brushed the long hair out of her face. Her movements were efficient, assertive now. “I thought you wanted Luna, mate.”

Harry shook his head, frustrated. “No…that wasn’t it. I wanted what Luna could give me. But you gave it to me. You made me feel better.”

Tonks looked at him for a long moment. “It’s all a game, Harry. It’s better you get it from Luna.” She turned away, found her wand, tucked it into her waistband. 

Harry frowned at her. He didn’t understand Tonks at all. Was it really all a game to her? 

Tonks slipped into her shoes. “I’m glad you’re all right, mate. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” She turned and began to walk toward the door.

“Tonks?” Harry called. She turned back, one still-blonde eyebrow raised. “Stay with me tonight. I’ll make us dinner and you can sleep here with me. You can go to work from here in the morning.”

Tonks tripped a bit on the hem of her robe, then froze in mid-stride. After a moment of stillness, she turned back and looked at Harry, and he was surprised to see a look of pain on her face. He began to stand, to reach for her, but she shook her head and made an pained noise. “No, Harry. I--I can't. I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She walked out of the room and shut the door firmly behind her.

Harry lay back against his pillows. Any comfort or soothing he had received from Tonks when they had made love evaporated in the face of his frustration. Tonks was an amazing lover, he thought. He didn’t want to give that up. He really enjoyed being with her. But even though his body was utterly satiated whenever they were together, he found that he still felt restless and dissatisfied in other ways. He had really wanted, needed, for her to stay with him tonight. He was so tired of being alone.

He swore and rolled off his bed. Grabbing up his clothes he dressed quickly. He’d go out to dinner on his own, because he didn’t want to be here right now. When he got back he’d work out.


	10. Chapter 10

  
Author's notes: As far as Tonks was concerned, there was only one rule: he wasn't allowed to fall in love with her. But Harry has never been very good at following rules.  


* * *

**X.**

X.

“You two working tonight?” Harry asked as they sat in the classroom waiting for Madame Conover to appear. Harry and Ron would never be early to a class on their own, but Hermione had insisted that they quiz each other for their upcoming Potions test. Harry had shrugged, figuring it couldn’t hurt. He hadn’t gone wrong trusting Hermione with his academic career at Hogwarts; he didn’t see why he should stop now.

“Ron is,” Hermione said vaguely. “I’m on assignment with Snape. What’s the antidote to a Befuddlement Draught?”

“Clarity Potion, or six hours of sleep,” Harry responded. 

“What’s in a Clarity Potion?” Hermione shot back at him.

“Bezoar, scarab powder, armadillo bile, water.”

She turned to Ron. “What spell has the same effect as a Befuddlement Draught?”

“Confundus Charm,” Ron said, frowning at her. “I didn’t know you were going to be gone tonight.”

Hermione shrugged. “I just got an owl this morning. What’s the incantation?”

_“Confundum,”_ Ron said. “What’s the assignment tonight?”

_“Confundum_ what?”

“Oh, er… _Confundum_ -whatever-you’re-confounding.”

“Right. And you know I can’t talk about that.” 

Ron was frowning. “Can I see the note?”

Harry knew he was checking to make sure it was real, since Order assignments were usually not given by owl. Hermione glared at him. “I’ve already checked it, Ron, and talked to Snape.”

Ron took the note. “Maybe I’ll just have to have a little talk with Snape myself,” he said grimly. Hermione rose to the bait and began lecturing Ron about his protectiveness, and Harry knew their studying was over for the morning. He was right; Ron and Hermione bickered until Madame Conover came in the room ten minutes later.

Practicals that day were the hardest he’d ever encountered. Tonks, with pink hair again today, pulled out some spells he had never heard before, and it was all he could do to maintain the offensive advantage. He was pleased that he managed it, but he wasn’t sure about some of his classmates. He knew Hermione and Ron could think on their feet, but he wasn’t as confident in some of the others.

“Of course we need to learn as many spells as we can,” Tonks was saying to the class. “There’s no substitute for having the knowledge at hand. That’s why we make you do all this library work. The more spells and countercurses we have at our disposal, the more likely we are to come out of a fight alive and in one piece. And in human form,” she added, her eyes sparkling as she glanced at Harry. He knew she was referring to the other day when Harry had shown them an obscure hex to turn an opponent into a flobberworm for ten seconds. The class laughed.

“But reflexes are everything,” Tonks continued. “Sometimes the best you can hope for is to get out of there alive, so you need to be able to block or deflect any spell that comes your way.” 

Before she had even finished speaking, she sent a silver hex at Hermione, who yelled _“Protego!”_ In a flash, she shot _“Petrificus Totalus!”_ back, which Tonks ducked. Hermione didn’t wait; as Tonks was always telling them, this wasn’t a tournament. She sent Harry’s flobberworm hex at Tonks while she was still crouched. Tonks turned into a slimy grey worm, and Hermione Stunned her. Tonks returned to her normal form still unconscious.

Hermione revived her, but they all kept their wands out. Tonks noticed it and nodded in approval. They were finally learning to be on guard at all times. Harry was beginning to understand where Moody had gotten his mania for constant vigilance.

“Well done, mate,” Tonks said to Hermione. “You must have had a good teacher.” She glanced at Harry. Hermione smiled, pleased, but didn’t lower her wand. “All right, pair up,” Tonks said to the class. “I want to see everyone using the new spells we learned this week. No holds barred. Our goal is to Stun or Disarm, and to remove the immediate threat. Extra points to the winners in each group.”

Tonks often had Harry duel with other members of the class so that they could improve by fighting someone superior to them. But today she claimed Harry for herself. There was something about her today, Harry thought. She looked both grim and excited, like she was going to give him a very hard time. He held his wand ready.

Tonks grinned, but Harry just watched her. Spells flew all around the large gymnasium, but Harry and Tonks didn’t move. The tension between them grew, the stillness becoming almost palpable. They looked into each other’s eyes; that was where you could see a movement before it happened. In the split-second flash of your enemy’s eyes, you could read your chance or see your death.

Flash…lighting quick a spell shot at him, and in the same moment, he returned one. Both he and Tonks dove out of the way of each other’s spells, and the battle was on. They circled, ducked, shielded; their wands flashed in a blur of light--red, gold, silver, blue. Bodies twitched or fell back when hits connected, panting, screaming, hissing in pain were heard. Tonks had never given him such a battle, and he felt somehow that this was personal. That she was trying to prove herself to him. Or maybe to herself. He didn’t know and he didn’t have time to think about it. Every battle with Death Eaters was personal, anyway. That wouldn’t be any different.

Flash, shield, hit, scream, flash, yell, shield. Harry registered without looking that the duels around him were slowing down, but he and Tonks weren’t. Was this an endurance test? Sweat poured down his back, and Tonks’ face was pink and shiny with sweat. Suddenly it occurred to him that if he couldn’t even win against an Auror, how did he expect to fight Voldemort? Grinding his teeth shut, he gave a low growl and pulled up all his energy. It was very like doing five more reps than usual on the weights. He changed his pattern, increased his speed, and began advancing on her. Finally he hit her hard in the middle with a lightning fast course of a simple, _“Expelliarmus! Reducto! Petrificus totalus!”_

Finally, Tonks fell, her wand flying out of her hand and into Harry’s. Breathing hard, he kept his wand trained on Tonks and approached. He snapped his fingers and tied her tightly with ropes. He wasn’t trying to embarrass her, but he knew if he wasn’t thorough, she’d never let him hear the end of it. The class broke into applause, but he didn’t pay any attention to them. He knelt next to her, wiggled his wand over her, and muttered, _“Finite.”_

Her body relaxed within her bonds. Her eyes glowed in that way that made Harry realize that if they had been alone, she’d be all over him. His mouth watered in response and he had to shift his position a bit to ease the tightening in his groin. She gave him that cheeky grin. He smiled in return.

“Give?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. You win. Again.” She didn’t seem terribly disappointed; in fact, she was positively beaming at him.

“No one’s ever matched me like that,” Harry said, snapping his fingers again to make the ropes fall off. He stood, then reached out a hand to help her up. She turned and dismissed the class, who wandered off toward the locker rooms, most of them talking about the duel they had just witnessed. Hermione and Ron went, too, though not without throwing curious glances Harry and Tonks as they went.

“I know,” Tonks shrugged. “I’ve been working at it. You need to be matched. I doubt I’ll ever beat you, but you need to be pushed.”

“Well, you did,” Harry said. “But, I’m afraid you wore me out, Tonks.” He gave her a mischievous smile of his own. “I don’t have any energy left…”

Tonks laughed. “None at all?”

Harry shook his head sadly.

“That’s too bad, Harry,” Tonks said, waking away from him and toward a row of bleachers near the wall of the gym. “Because that was the most amazing display of power I’ve ever seen. You got me so hot…” she stripped off her t-shirt and walked away from him in only her shorts and sports bra. Harry followed, his mouth going dry.

As he walked behind the bleachers, she jumped on him. He staggered a moment under her weight, then grabbed her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Her mouth came down on his in devouring kisses, hot and wet, and Harry met them. Soft noises were coming from her throat as they kissed voraciously, and her hot, strong hands, squeezed his shoulders. His own hands kneaded her firm arse. He opened his eyes briefly and saw that several dueling mats had been stored back here, so he fell onto them, with Tonks under him, still wrapped around her waist.

“Got to be quiet,” she moaned. “It echoes in here.” She lifted her head and began to bite on Harry’ s neck. He gasped and thrust his hand under her shirt and started to squeeze her hard. He knew she was way past gentleness or even much foreplay. He had a feeling that the duel out there had been foreplay for them. 

“You can’t be quiet,” he whispered. “You’re always loud. You moan and scream…” he broke off on a moan himself as Tonks’ hands cupped him through his shorts. She squeezed him and started to work him up and down. He bit down on her nipple and she gasped, then bit her lip. Her breath came in short sharp pants, and her hands forgot what they were doing as he sucked her nipples hard.

Harry grabbed her hands and held her wrists together in one of his big hands. He pushed them over her head, and she moaned at the show of his superior strength. She struggled against him, but he only pressed harder, and she moaned again. With his other hand he ripped her shorts down and off her legs, then he pulled his own down only far enough that his cock was freed. He levered himself on top of her. She tried to get her arms free, and managed to lift them a bit, but he slammed them back down into the mat. Tonks’ eyes rolled into the back of her head and she arched her back with excitement.

Harry positioned his cock at her entrance and she pushed her pelvis against him, begging him to put it inside. “You have to be quiet,” Harry whispered in her ear. “You can’t make a noise while I fuck you. It echoes in here, remember?”

Tonks nodded, and Harry pushed himself into her. She gasped. He thrust harder, again and again. Tonks was biting her lip so hard it was starting to bleed, and Harry felt a flash of guilt. He pulled out of her and released her arms, but she reached for him immediately.

“More,” she said in a whispering pant. “Fuck me more.”

“No,” Harry said, then he took her nipple in his mouth again. God, she had great tits. Tonks moaned and pushed her breast more deeply into his mouth.

“You have to be quiet,” he reminded her.

“Can’t,” Tonks breathed. 

“You have to,” he said, his hand finding the wet heat between her legs. She gasped and thrust against him. He rubbed harder and kissed her mouth, doing the same things with his tongue and fingers, thrusting in and out, circling, rubbing, until she arched her back and began to breathe so hard he thought she might hyperventilate. 

“HarryHarryHarryHarryHarry,” she whispered as she came, and Harry couldn’t hold back any longer. She had never said his name during sex before, not like that. He climbed between her legs and rammed into her again, and she gave a small cry, which she immediately bit off. He liked that sound; it was the sound she always made when he first slid into her. Suddenly he lost all control or capacity for thought, he drove in to her again and again. He put his hands under her hips and lifted her as he thrust, and she bit her lip even harder. She met his every thrust, and Harry could tell by her breathing and the way her passage felt around him that she was coming again. It pushed him over the edge and he went rigid, his head thrown back, biting down on his own shout. Then he pumped his seed into her in fast sharp thrusts, and felt it flood around him. Finally he collapsed on top of her and wrapped his arms around her.

“Oh, Merlin,” Tonks sighed, her breath still coming fast. “That was amazing.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. He was too lethargic to do any more.

They lay there a bit longer, staring at the high ceiling of the gym. Tonks' hand stroked his hair lightly, whlie he other arm wrapped around his middle. It was very soothing. Harry was beginning to doze off when he felt Tonks pull away from him. 

“Don’t go,” Harry murmured, keeping his arms wrapped around her.

Tonks laughed quietly. “We’re in the gym, mate. We both have to get going.”

Harry scowled and raised his head. “That didn’t bother you a few minutes ago.”

Tonks grinned, wrinkling her nose. “Nope, it didn’t. Not much could have bothered me then!”

Harry laughed despite himself and got carefully to his feet. He wasn’t sure everything was still working properly, or that he wanted it to. He could have laid here with her all day. 

“I have to work in the library tonight,” he said.

“And?” she asked, raising one pink eyebrow.

“I don’t have to be here until seven. Have dinner with me.”

Tonks looked up at him for a long time. For a moment he thought she just might say yes this time. Then she sighed and shook her head. “No, Harry.”

He slammed a fist against the bleachers. “Why not?”

Tonks frowned at him. “I told you at the start of all this that I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

“I know,” Harry said, some of his anger draining. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do other things together besides shag.” He turned away.

“Yes, it does,” Tonks said. “A few nice dinners, combined with really good sex, I spend the night a few times, start keeping a toothbrush at Grimmauld Place…suddenly I’m your girlfriend. I do not want a boyfriend, Harry.”

“Would it be so bad?”

“Yes.”

“What if…” he rocked back on his heels, nervous. “What if I like you, Tonks?

Tonks blinked and took a deep breath, but before she turned away, Harry could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes. “Ah, Harry,” she said, breathing out and shaking her head. “Like me enough for us to have a good time together, all right, mate? That’s all I want.”

Harry knew she wouldn’t talk about it any more. He watched her walk away, then swore. Finally, he pulled his clothing back together and hit the showers.


End file.
